It’s Christmas-time, and the Green Brigade — the “ultras” that pack the safe-standing area in the northeast corner of Celtic Park — just keep on giving, with new songs to show their support for their team, and keep the rest of us entertained.
Indeed, the atmosphere at Celtic Park, particularly for big matches, has become the stuff of legend, with stars such as Xavi and Messi singing its praises. From “You’ll Never Walk Alone” providing the backdrop to pre-match festivities prior to European matches to regular renditions of the Wolfe Tones’ song “Celtic Symphony” and the Irish folk song “The Fields of Athenry,” throughout the match the Celtic faithful lever fail to impress.
And much of that atmosphere is created by the support, and vocal chords, of the Green Brigade, with these hardcore supporters effectively serving as conductors of the, well, Celtic Symphony--or choir, anyway.
Recently, the Green Brigade have made several notable additions to their repertoire. Here are a few of our faves:
‘Tis the Season:
We never cared too much for Wham!, but Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has to be flattered by the Green Brigade’s adaptation of the band’s hit “Last Christmas,” in which they promise the gaffer their collective heart. Here it is, from a recent away match at Kilmarnock in Scotland:
A nice gesture, for sure, but the Brigade serenaded Rodgers’ predecessor Ronny Deila with the same song, and we saw how that worked out.
Reggae Bhoys:
UB40’s “Kingston Town” didn’t chart well here in the US, but it was a big hit in the UK. Celtic supporters have brought it back, with their own version, customized for the “Bhoys.”
Anniversaries:
This season marks the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions, the Celtic side that won the European Cup in Portugal in 1966-67, with most of the players coming from in and around Glasgow. “In the Heat of Lisbon”--sung to the tune of Bonnie Tyler’s “It’s A Heartache”--is hardly a new Celtic song, but what is new in the mobile phone-generated light show in the stands that accompanies it--during the 67th minute, naturally:
Saying Grace:
This one checks off a lot of boxes for us. Celtic were founded by a group of Irish immigrants to Glasgow, and the club remains very connected with the Emerald Isle and the Irish diaspora worldwide. That’s why the Green Brigade adding the Irish folk song “Grace,” which tells the tale of the 1916 Easter Rising and Joseph Plunkett and his wife Grace, is so special. They’ve needed to up the tempo a bit in keeping with a soccer/football match, but their version is still first class.
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