Anthem

Arsenal are not my team but I am glad that they have done really well this season in The Premier League. They play an attractive brand of flowing, honest football and there is sparkling talent all over the pitch. They play together as a proper, united  team, all pulling in the same direction.

Last night they were up against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the semi-final of  The European Champions League competition. They scraped home courtesy of a  scrambled first half goal scored by captain and England international - Bukayo Saka. And now they are through to the final against Paris Saint-Germain.

After the match, the massed Arsenal supporters delivered a loud, spine-tingling rendition of what has become the club's unique anthem - "North London Forever". It was only written in 2022 and was never intended to be a football anthem. However, the creator happens to be an Arsenal supporter who was born and raised in Islington.

His name is Louis Dunford and having listened to the full song a few times, I would suggest that it was only ever intended to be an affectionate homage to his home city with all of its big metropolitan confusion, its modern issues, its cultural variety. The fact that the song has been adopted by the football club he loves must blow his mind with pride and joy.

Of course the fans only sing the chorus but the edgy, urban full lyrics are worth looking at. I will just supply the first verse followed by the uplifting chorus that Arsenal supporters have adopted and after that a video from The Hammersmith Apollo two years ago. You might just get the "vibe":-

As I walk these streets alone, through this borough I call home
Upon the barren fields of Highbury 'neath the stadiums of stone
Through the turnstiles at The Angel, see the homeless on the green
From The Cally to The Cross, and every shithole in between
Past the church, the mosque, a crack den, and the offie on the corner
See the brasses from the brothel that pretends to be a sauna
Watch the bedlam in the bookies, see the winners and the losers
Seeking solace from their sorrows in the local battle cruisers
Through the madness in the market, weathered faces turn to greet ya
"Hello guvnor, how's your mother?"
"You alright son, be lucky, geeza"
Double pie and mash and liquor, a cuppa Rosie Lee up chap
Or watch retired gangsters bicker, everyday in Arthur's cafe
The little fuckers causing trouble, for the cozzers make you smile
You meet ya muckers for a couple, forget your troubles for a while
From The Thornhill to The Hemmy, all the faces are the same
'Cause the manor might be changing, but the people still remain

North London forever!
Whatever the weather,
These streets are our own!
And my heart will leave you never!
My blood will forever
Run through the stone!

I wish that Hull City had an anthem like that instead of a recycled Elvis Presley song. By the way, British visitors may be interested to learn that Louis Dunford's mother is the TV actress Linda Robson who first entered the national consciousness via "Birds of a Feather" with Pauline Quirke.