Its the grand old flag, with Melbourne in it.

[Demon SeaMan 108]

'should all maintenance (afl handouts,fines, ex presidents,coaches' not be forgot'

aside from that anyone got a good chant for when dawesy kicks 1/2 a dozen today, lets stick it up the black& white scum!!!!!!

go dees

[Little Goffy 14,462]

what does the following line mean anyway;

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot"

Any takers?

Oddly enough, this fragment of the song is probably the only part with historical substance.

The legend is that after grabbing a rare win down in Geelong 'back in the day', the player's bus back to Melbourne was in a bit of a jolly capering mood, which culminated in a spontaneous roaring version of auld lang syne.

As ye do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

Throw in the message of remembering history, times and friends past, it's quite suitable. A touch anachronistic, but that's exactly what makes it part of the club.

For a laugh, I wonder if anyone can work some magic to make it about premiership cups, not cups of kindness.

Come to think of it, the song (aung lang syne) could be used as part of a campaign to reach out to the many older supporters who have lost 'contact' since the glory days.

[Ted Lasso 19,311]

Ohhh sign roosy sign

Over and over again

[Wadda We Sing 10,685]

The old footy songs are great, they reference a bygone era and where the history of the game is from. Many peoplle would know them all. However the newer club songs post 1990 (ok I leave the Swans one alone) ala Fremantle, Gold coast etc the songs are pretty terrible based on nothing but some marketing idiot who was employed by the club at the time to solve the issue.

[deanox 9,898]

Some more info:

http://demonwiki.org/tiki-index.php?page=theme+song

My understanding is we adapted the lyrics from the American song to suit us.

Out of interest, our song links back to 1912. Collingwood's is the only song with a longer history (1906).

http://mm.afl.com.au/afl_heritage/songs_history.htm

I can't see any benefit in changing it.

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,778]

Who cares. We hardly ever get to hear it.

[Choko 493]

It's the emblem of the Melbourne club, the demons of red and the blue

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,693]

Win more games and no-one will care what the words of the song are.

And if you wanted to rank songs of all clubs dispassionately, I'm sure our would be in the top 6. So what needs fixing?

[iv'a worn smith 1,979]

Ours is the only theme song in the AFL which does not mention the name of the team in the lyrics. i love the song and the tradition attached to it, but what will it mean to the current young generation and generations to come? I only pose the question.

[T-34 409]

Ours is the only theme song in the AFL which does not mention the name of the team in the lyrics. i love the song and the tradition attached to it, but what will it mean to the current young generation and generations to come? I only pose the question.

Does Richmond's song actually mention Richmond ?

[iv'a worn smith 1,979]

Does Richmond's song actually mention Richmond ?

No, but it mentions a pretty club defining 'oh we're from tigerland'

Edited June 11, 2014 by iv'a worn smith

[Fat Tony 5,220]

I don't see the need for change. But if we did, a simple exchange of "Should auld acquaintance be forgot" for "Melbourne Demons to the top" could work.

[Elusive Tunbridge 795]

It's the emblem of the Melbourne Club, the demons of red and the blue

That would go with a Collins St presence.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,693]

Ours is the only theme song in the AFL which does not mention the name of the team in the lyrics. i love the song and the tradition attached to it, but what will it mean to the current young generation and generations to come? I only pose the question.

Believe it or not, people like Old Dee and me were part of a younger generation once. The song worked for us then. Can't see why it wouldn't work for a new generation tomorrow.

[Satyriconhome 10,731]

Believe it or not, people like Old Dee and me were part of a younger generation once. The song worked for us then. Can't see why it wouldn't work for a new generation tomorrow.

And we are from a generation that actually had some substance, and knew where the "auld acquaintance" line came from without googling it, leave the song alone, I am now proudly wearing the blazer singing the song and the relevant line in a loud voice facing in the generall direction of the G

Edited June 11, 2014 by Satyriconhome

[hardtack 10,514]

And we are from a generation that actually had some substance, and knew where the "auld acquaintance" line came from without googling it, leave the song alone, I am now proudly wearing the blazer singing the song and the relevant line in a loud voice facing in the generall direction of the G

Yes, and that substance is the reason I can't remember the '60's.

[daisycutter 29,604]

if we can have "auld acquaintance", couldn't we work in "girt by melbourne town" somewhere?

[Satyriconhome 10,731]

Yes, and that substance is the reason I can't remember the '60's.

No, I was a polite grammar schoolboy for the majority of the 60''s, but 70's now that's were the phrase 'lost weekend' comes from, when I first started playing footy, after years of playing "soccer", I always found it rather quaint to stand in a circle and sing a song when you won, but it grew on me, there is nothing wrong with the song...as somebody has said it is streets ahead of some of the expansion teams johnny come lately efforts

Edited June 12, 2014 by Satyriconhome

[iv'a worn smith 1,979]

Believe it or not, people like Old Dee and me were part of a younger generation once. The song worked for us then. Can't see why it wouldn't work for a new generation tomorrow.

I am from the same generation and was taught to sing it by my father. The song resonated very strongly for me, when dad and I sang it in the old Grey-Smith stand after we won the '64 flag. Sadly and to state the obvious, we aint won one since. Those were different times for both kids and their parents, who bequeathed the love of the grand old flag to their offspring, off the back of some very halcyon days indeed. Days when boots were worn above the ankle, most if not all players wore their socks up and short back and sides were the vogue. No designer stubble or beards then.

The youth of today and perhaps in the future may certainly grasp the significance of 'should auld acquaintance be forgot' but not being a demographer I cannot say for certain. As I said in my original post, I love our song and like many VFL/AFL theme songs, they are derived from old American standards such as Row, Row Row, Dolly Gray, Yankee Doodle Dandy and Lily of Laguna to name a few. Each of those examples mentions either the town or nickname in their lyrics and therefore are identifiable to those younger ones deciding who they will follow. Far be it for me to to dictate how and why younger people should relate to a club anthem, but the fact remains, neither our team name or nickname appear in the lyrics of our club song

.....but I love it just the same.

[jnrmac 20,055]

The changes that would make sense, not destroy the history/fabric of the song is to start it with:

"Melbourne's grand old flag is a high flying flag.....

and then

Its the emblem of the team we love, Melbourne's team of the red and the blue.

Couldnt really have a problem with that...

[Leoncelli_36 2,264]

One simple change

"It's Melbourne's Grand Old Flag, Its the towns high flying flag, it's the emblem for you and for me. The emblem of, the team we love, the team of the red and the blue....."

[george_on_the_outer 7,577]

The youth of today and perhaps in the future may certainly grasp the significance of 'should auld acquaintance be forgot' but not being a demographer I cannot say for certain. As I said in my original post, I love our song and like many VFL/AFL theme songs, they are derived from old American standards such as Row, Row Row, Dolly Gray, Yankee Doodle Dandy and Lily of Laguna to name a few. Each of those examples mentions either the town or nickname in their lyrics and therefore are identifiable to those younger ones deciding who they will follow. Far be it for me to to dictate how and why younger people should relate to a club anthem, but the fact remains, neither our team name or nickname appear in the lyrics of our club song

.....but I love it just the same.

For Iva and those who want to listen to some of the original songs, variations and alternatives, we have links in Demonlands articles section:

http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?/topic/36665-club-theme-songs-their-origins-by-george-on-the-outer/

[Elusive Tunbridge 795]

One simple change

"It's Melbourne's Grand Old Flag, Its the towns high flying flag, it's the emblem for you and for me. The emblem of, the team we love, the team of the red and the blue....."

Inserting syllables and an extra stress in the second line and you offer that as an improvement? Keep it singable.

[Barney Rubble 1,576]

I am one who thinks we need a change.

Every game I go to and the song gets played, very few supporters sing along.

They just clap their hands to the beat.

We need a song that gets the supporters involved.

Something to awaken the emotions instead of a lullaby that puts you to sleep.

[ManDee 7,124]

No, I was a polite grammar schoolboy for the majority of the 60''s, but 70's now that's were the phrase 'lost weekend' comes from, when I first started playing footy, after years of playing "soccer", I always found it rather quaint to stand in a circle and sing a song when you won, but it grew on me, there is nothing wrong with the song...as somebody has said it is streets ahead of some of the expansion teams johnny come lately efforts

Saty, almost 20 years a grammar schoolboy, you should have tried harder.

Yes I know in that instance a majority is over 10 years. Maybe we could add "heave ho we are the Melbourne Demons!"