Celtic Football Club
Foundation: 1888 - Glasgow
It all starts in 1853 with the Opera Il Trovatore (The Troubadour), written by Verdi. In act II, scene 1, the gypsies sing the famous Anvil Chorus.
Fast forward to 1879. W.S Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan write the comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. They heavily rip off Verdi's Anvil chorus for the song "With cat-like tread, upon our prey we steal", which is sung by the pirates at the climax of the show.
Come, friends, who plough the sea,
Truce to navigation;
Take another station;
Let’s vary piracee
With a little burglaree!
Come, friends, who plough the sea,
Truce to navigation;
Take another station;
Let’s vary piracee
With a little burglaree!
Now fast forward to 1917. A military marching song is written by D.A. Estron and Theodore Morse called "Hail Hail the gangs all here", based on "With Cat-like Tread". The song is first recorded by Irving Kaufman, and becomes a number one hit in 1918.
Sounds familiar doesn't it?
The lyrics to the chorus are:
Hail! Hail! the gang's all here,
What the deuce do we care,
What the deuce do we care,
Hail! Hail! we're full of cheer,
What the deuce do we care Bill!
After this, at some point prior to the 1960's the song is sung on the Parkhead Terraces as:
Hail Hail, the Celts are here,
What the hell do we care,
What the hell do we care,
Hail Hail, the Celts are here,
What the hell do we care now...
Then, in 1961, "Mr Glasgow" Glen Daly records a completely unrelated song called "The Celtic Song". The music is credited as "traditional" and the lyrics are credited to "Liam Mallory". However, nobody seems to know who Liam Mallory is, and it has been suggested that it is actually a pseudonym for Glen Daly himself!
It is also suggested however, that the song was written by a man called Mick McLaughlin, known as "Garngad Mick", who allegedly also wrote "Hampden in the Sun". The story goes that he sold the rights to the the Celtic Song to Glen Daly for a fiver!
Glen Daly also released a song called "Hail Hail Celtic" which is another completely original song, obviously inspired by the common "Hail Hail the Celts are Here" terrace chant. It bears some resemblance to Irving Kaufman song above.
Click below to download Glen Daly singing "Hail Hail Celtic".
So today, when the Celtic fans sing "hail hail the celts are here" followed by "its a grand old team...", we are singing two different songs, of which you now know the (almost) complete history!
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