World Cup countdown – songs trying to hit the right notes

There have been some pretty cringeworthy World Cup songs down the years, so there have.

How about this, for example: “Let the rhythm of the ball, take us to the final goal … USA!” Yuck. That, by the way, was a USA 2006 World Cup song for Germany. Probably explains why the tournament was such a disappointment for Bruce Arena’s boys.

The tradition of an official song dates back to the 1966 World Cup in England with a song for ‘World Cup Willie,’ the friendly lion mascot who we featured a couple of weeks back.

Those of note through the years include New Order and ‘World in Motion,’ in 1990, and The Lightning Seeds’ ‘Three Lions’ with Baddeil and Skinner in 1998, both considered high up the list of best World Cup songs of all time.

When Ireland qualified for its first ever World Cup 20 years ago, the music chart of said country was literally infested with theme songs for Italia ’90. The hysteria that hit the nation was responsible for some downright dreadful ditties.

Among them was the humorous ‘Give it a Lash Jack,’ which practically became the soundtrack of the summer. Liam Harrison and The Goal Celebrities suggested that if coach Jack Charlton and the Irish squad returned victorious from Italy, they should all be stuffed and mounted by a taxidermist for show. Luckily for the players, they departed the tournament in the quarter-finals.

However, that wasn’t half as embarrassing as the ‘Far Away in America,’ featuring kings of camp, the Village People, and the German national team in 1994. ‘YMCA’ it wasn’t.

If you’re the type who can’t get enough of World Cup songs to get you in the mood, there is now a website called WorldCupSong.com, where anyone who has a song about the 2010 tournament can enter their tune for free.

At the time of writing, there were 219 songs, and the most listened to by the time of the final will win a $1,480 prize.

In the lead at the moment is Gerry Asmus’s ‘It’s Our Game’ for England, while the highest American song is the 58th ranked ‘The Surface’ by Cooper.

While not the worst (it is fairly catchy), I just can’t picture U.S. fans singing, in the stadiums of South Africa, the lines, “We have barely reached the surface/We have so much to learn ...Someday this page will turn.”