Tifosi di calcio e musica ancora una volta protagonisti, stavolta a Verona dove viene intonato un coro dagli ultras sulle note di un brano gospel.

Lo stadio bentegodi canta queste parole:

E quando i blu, Saranno in ciel, E quando i blu saranno in ciel, Io voglio esser lì con loro, E quando i blu saranno in ciel…

Semplici, ma bellissime! Altrettanto più belle sono la melodia e le note che la tifoseria scaligera ha scelto di adattare al coro da stadio affidandosi a quanto già accade da tempi immemori nelle terraces d’oltremanica. Già perchè la stessa canzone che senti tra i “butei” la puoi sentire in decine, ma che dico decine, centinaia di campi da gioco, dalla premier league alle serie minori. Si tratta, questo, di uno dei cori calcistici più datati, più diffusi e più belli di sempre.

When the saints go marchin in

Un brano di musica gospel bellissimo, reso ancor più noto dalla versone jazz di Louis Amstrong; nasce, ovviamnete come spiritual, come canzone di chiesa, anzi, per dirla tutta era una marcia funebre. Si diffonde nella zona di New orleans, la città della musica, del jazz, dei bianchi che fanno musica nera, del dixieland.

Il legame con il calcio

Essendo questo un brano che ha conosciuto il massimo successo a New Orleans, si associa dappprima al football, ma non il “nostro amato sport”, il football americano, quello che nel nome ha la parola “foot”, ma che si gioca con le mani…strani gli americani eh!? Come avranno fatto a vincere le guerre?!?!?! Dai Saints della Lousinana la cazone attraversa l’oceano ed arriva nei campi di calcio, con i tifosi del Southampton, anche essi chiamati “the Saints”.

Facile capire quindi come possa arrivare questo testo tra chi porta come nickname parte del testo del brano, ma la cosa insipegabile, se non con la bellezza del coro, è come possa aver influenzato tante altre tifoserie, e non solo britanniche, delle quali riportiamo un piccolo elenco:

Aberdeen F.C. (Aberdeen, Scotland) substituting “Reds” for “Saints” and “steaming” for “marching”

 

Adelaide United (Adelaide, Australia) substituting “Reds” for “Saints”

 

AIK Stockholm (Stockholm, Sweden)

 

Aldershot Town (Aldershot, England) substituting “Shots” for “Saints” and “steaming” for “marching”

 

Alvechurch FC (Alvechurch, England) substituting “Church” for “saints”

 

Bengaluru FC (Bengaluru, India) substituting “Blues” for “Saints”

 

Birmingham City F.C. (Birmingham, England) substituting “Blues” for “Saints”

 

Bristol Rovers F.C. (Bristol, England) substituting “Gas!” for “Saints”

 

Chelsea F.C. (London, England) substituting “Blues” for “Saints” and “steaming” for “marching”

 

Colorado Rapids (Denver, Colorado, United States) substituting “Rapids” for “Saints”

 

Chalfont St Peter (Buckinghamshire, England)

 

Detroit City F.C. (Detroit, Michigan, United States) substituting “Le Rouge” (the club’s nickname) for “Saints”

 

Djurgårdens IF (Stockholm, Sweden) Supporter group “Blue Saints”

 

Drogheda United F.C. (Drogheda, Ireland )substituting “Drogs” (the club’s nickname) for “Saints”

 

Dundee United F.C. (Dundee, Scotland) substituting “Shed” (the name of United’s most famous stand) for “Saints”

 

Fulham F.C. (London, England) substituting “Whites” (the club’s nickname) for “Saints”

 

Heart of Midlothian F.C. (Edinburgh, Scotland) substituting “Hearts” for “Saints”

 

Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. (Inverness, Scotland) Use the tune but substitute “when the saints come marching in” for “Inverness is wonderful”, and the main chorus for “we’ve got a bridge (referring to the Kessock Bridge) and a castle (referring to Inverness castle)”

 

Leeds United A.F.C. (Leeds, England)

 

Leicester City F.C. (Leicester, England) substituting “Blues” (the team colour) for “Saints”

 

Liverpool F.C. (Liverpool, Merseyside, England) substituting “Reds” (the team colour) for “Saints”

 

Luton Town (Luton, Bedfordshire, England) substituting “Town” for “Saints” and “steaming” for “marching”

 

Manchester United F.C. (Greater Manchester, England)

 

Middlesbrough F.C. (Middlesbrough, England)

 

MK Dons (Milton Keynes, England) substituting “Dons” for “Saints”

 

Newcastle United Football Club (Newcastle upon Tyne, England) substituting “Mags” (the club’s nickname) for “Saints”

 

New England Revolution (Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States) substituting “Revs” (the club’s nickname) for “Saints”

 

Norwich City F.C. (Norwich, England)

 

Oldham Athletic F.C. (Oldham, England) substituting “Blues” (the club’s colour) for “Saints.” A Dixieland version is used.

 

Peterborough United F.C. (Peterborough, England) substituting “Posh” for “Saints” and “steaming” for “marching”

 

Portland Thorns FC (Portland, Oregon) substituting “Thorns” for “Saints”[1]

 

Queens Park Rangers F.C. (London, England) substituting “R’s” for “Saints”

 

Palmeiras SE (São Paulo, Brazil)

 

Rochdale A.F.C. (Rochdale, England) substituting “Dale” for “Saints”.

 

Rotherham United F.C. (Rotherham, Yorkshire, England)

 

San Jose Earthquakes (San Jose, California, United States) substituting “Quakes” (the club’s nickname) for “Saints”

 

Sheffield United F.C. (Sheffield, Yorkshire, England) substituting “Blades” (the club’s nickname) for “Saints”

 

SK Brann (Bergen, Norway). Sings in Norwegian. Its not a transition, but a very different lyrics. The text says “The city of Bergen is beautiful, and we have the best beer and tits”.

 

Southampton F.C. (Southampton, England). The club is nicknamed “The Saints”

 

St. John’s University (New York City, New York, United States) substituting “Storm” (from the team’s nickname “the Red Storm”) for “Saints”

 

St Johnstone Football Club (Perth, Scotland)

 

St Mirren Football Club (Paisley, Scotland) The club is nicknamed “The Saints”

 

St. Patrick’s Athletic Football Club (Dublin, Ireland)

 

Swindon Town F.C. (Swindon, Wiltshire, England) substituting “Reds” (the team’s home colour) for “Saints”, and “steaming” for “marching” (due to the town’s railway heritage)

 

Toronto F.C. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) substituting “Reds” (the club’s nickname) for “Saints”

 

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. (London, England) substituting “Spurs” (the club’s nickname) for “Saints”

 

United States national soccer teams (United States) substituting “Yanks” for “Saints”

 

Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) substituting “Caps” for “Saints”

 

West Bromwich Albion F.C. (West Midlands, England) substituting “Stripes” for “Saints”

 

Real Club Celta de Vigo (Vigo, Galicia, Spain)