- The Hockey Song
"The Hockey Song" is a Canadian anthem, written and sung originally by
Stompin' Tom Connors . It is now routinely played at hockey arenas where the crowds sing along.The song first appeared on Connors'
1973 album, "Stompin' Tom and the Hockey Song ". However, the song did not reach its tremendous popularity until1992 . It was at this time, that the song was played atOttawa Senators games.Pat Burns , then coach of theToronto Maple Leafs wanted to have it played in Toronto. Fans took a liking to the song, and it spread throughout both Canadian and AmericanNHL arenas. Today, it is a well known song, celebrating Canada's love for one of its national games, hockey.The song is well known for its chorus,
:"Oh! The good old hockey game,":"Is the best game you can name;":"And the best game you can name,":"Is the good old Hockey game!"
The verses of the song are split up, so that each one describes a period of play in a typical hockey game. In the first verse, Connors sings "Someone roars, Bobby scores!" This was probably done because many popular players in the NHL at the time who were named Bobby, namely
Bobby Orr ,Bobby Clarke andBobby Hull . In the last verse, Connors sings that it is the last game of the playoffs, and the "Stanley Cup is all filled up for the champs that win the drink". He later also sings "The puck is in, the home team wins!" which in concert, he may change "home team" to an actual team based on where he is playing.The song has been covered by many bands, including Corb Lund Band and
The Hanson Brothers . One such cover version was used as the theme song for the 1990s CTV series, "Power Play", while another was used to open NHL broadcasts onCTV Sportsnet in the late 1990s and early 2000s.In 2004, the American comedy-talk show "
Late Night with Conan O'Brien " taped a week's worth of shows in Canada. During one of these telecasts, Connors, making one of the first American TV appearances of his entire career, was brought on to perform "The Hockey Song".With the expiration of
CBC Television 's license of "The Hockey Theme " for "Hockey Night in Canada ", Connors has let it be known that he would be open to an appropriate licensing offer for his song as a replacementtheme song . [http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/06/09/hnic-song.html?ref=rssl CBC news] , June 6, 2008]Notes
External links
* [http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/08/hockey.htm Lyrics]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlWrx7M2EOU The Capitals game parody]
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