The Wheelbarrow song

The Wheelbarrow song is a football chant sung by fans of Notts County Football Club, which goes to the tune of On Top of Old Smoky.

The chant

"I had a wheelbarrow, the wheel fell off

I had a wheelbarrow, the wheel fell off"

Origin

There are many different stories about where the song started. Some believe it was when a groundsman was on the pitch at half time with a wheelbarrow. As he cut the corner of the pitch, the wheel fell off and a terrace chant was born.

However, a more realistic version, believed by many supporters who were present at the game is that it started at a match back on Tuesday April 17th 1990. Notts County were playing away at Shrewsbury Town's former home, Gay Meadow. The Magpies were trailing to two Dean Spink goals and looked to be losing, with less than ten minutes left.

The Shrewsbury Supporters were happy and singing On Top of Old Smokey. But because of their strong accent, it sounded like "I had a wheel barrow, the wheel fell off," to the Notts County fans. The magpies fans then sung it back as a way of taking the mickey out of them. This had an amazing effect on the team who managed to pull back two goals in the last ten minutes to draw the game. The song then accompanied the Notts County team all the way and on into the following season, with another trip to Wembley Stadium and another glorious victory, with 25,000 people singing it beneath the twin towers. It has remained a firm favourite at the world’s oldest football league club ever since.

Uses in popular culture

The song has been mentioned by numerous football commentators on television and radio, including the BBC's John Motson during a live commentary at White Hart Lane. It has also been sung by TV's Ralf Little in the TV show "Paradise Heights" in which he played a Notts County fan.

External links

* [http://www.1862.net/main/wheelbarrow_song.php The history of the song on 1862.net]
* [http://www.jimmywillan.btinternet.co.uk/connection/magpiesongs.htm The Wheelbarrow song on CD]
* [http://www.nottscountyfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/ Notts County FC official website]
* [http://www.geocities.com/derbymagpie/TheWheelBarrow.html The history of the song on Mighty Magpies]