Harman Patil (Editor)

The Celtic Song

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The Celtic Song is the song played over the public address system at Celtic Park, Glasgow when the Scottish football team Celtic run onto the pitch before kick-off. It has been claimed that is set to the tune of "With cat-like tread, upon our prey we steal", from the 1879 Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance, but this is not entirely correct: "Hail hail the Celts are here" is sung to the tune of "Come friends who plough the sea" from the same sequence in Pirates, but "It's a grand old team" bears no resemblance to "With cat-like tread" [1].

There are many versions of the song. However, the original version played at Parkhead was recorded by Glen Daly in 1961. To mark the 50th anniversary of the original release, Shane McGowan recorded his version in 2011.

Versions of the song are sung by supporters of other clubs around Britain, most notably by Tottenham Hotspur fans (since the 1967 FA Cup Final), fans of Hibernian in Edinburgh, and Everton Fans – "The Everton Song" is a more ribald rendition by the fans of Everton.

Vienna Celtic RFC, a rugby club founded in 1978 in Vienna, Austria, have their own adaptation of the song as well.

The tune is also heard in the film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, featuring James Stewart, John Wayne, Lee Marvin and Lee Van Cleef.

On the popular television program Lost, Desmond Hume can be heard singing the original version of the song.

References

The Celtic Song Wikipedia