The Hockey Song
| "The Hockey Song" | |
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YouTube |
"The Hockey Song", sometimes mistakenly called "The Good Old Hockey Game", is a song written and originally performed by Canadian folksinger Stompin' Tom Connors. The song's first release was on Connors' 1973 album,
Content
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!". 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!". In concert he would sometimes change "home team" to an actual team based on where he was playing. One example was at the closing ceremonies for Maple Leaf Gardens, when he changed the last game line from the playoffs to "the Garden", and mentioned that the Leafs have won.
In the song's chorus, Connors sings, "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."
Popular culture
The song has been covered numerous times. One cover version was used in combination with Connors' recording as the theme song for the 1990s
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
"The Hockey Song" was re-recorded in 2008 by Connors as the "new 2008 version" and was featured on his studio album, The Ballad of Stompin' Tom. Connors thought that the original recording in the 1970s was "too thin".
In 2011, a cover of the song was used by NBC Sports in a promo for the 2012 NHL Winter Classic. Multiple fans produced versions of the song with lyrics changed to reflect the 2012–13 labour disputes.[7]
On 6 March 2013, Great Big Sea performed "The Hockey Song" in concert in San Francisco as a tribute to Stompin' Tom Connors, who had died earlier that day.[8]
On 27 October 2018, the song was added to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, with a ceremony at an NHL game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, including a performance by country singer Tim Hicks and a plaque presentation to Connors' son and family.[9][10][11]
The song is featured in the "Hockey Night in Burnaby" episode of Being Ian and the Season 34 hockey-themed "Top Goon" episode of The Simpsons.
Chart performance
| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100) | 29 |
Notes
- ^ "From the Music Capitals of the World". Billboard. 13 January 1973. p. 45.
- ISBN 1553651197.
- ISBN 1897073461.
- ISBN 1895451264.
- ^ "r/hockey – Stompin' Tom Connors of "The Hockey Song" fame has passed away". reddit. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- ^ "CTV purchases The Hockey Theme". CBC News. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ Greg Wyshynski (17 September 2012). "NHL Lockout Soundtrack: Taylor Swift vs. Bettman and Fehr; 'The Hockey Song' protests". yahoo.com. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ Great Big Sea (7 March 2013). "The Hockey Song – A Tribute To Stompin' Tom Connors". Retrieved 3 April 2013 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Stompin' Tom's classic The Hockey Song to be inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame". CBC News. The Canadian Press. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- ^ "Hip Check: Musician Tim Hicks performs Stompin' Tom's Hockey Song in Toronto". CBC Sports. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- ^ "'The Hockey Song' to be inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame". CP24. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.