Tuesday 23 October 2007

The Wonder of You

Arsenal have adopted the 1970 Elvis Presley number 1 "The Wonder of You" as the their equivalent to Liverpool's "You'll Never Walk Alone". The Elvis classic is played just minutes before the Gunners take the pitch and it has divided opinion. Many traditionalist Arsenal fans have erred away from the newly adopted song, whilst others have taken the song to their hearts.

Although no intelligent Arsenal fan can deny the financial implications of the move away from Highbury, many lament the move. Some point to the Board's failure to mount the Clock End Clock within the new stadium as a mindless oversight and an insult to the history of the Club. Football fans are creatures of habit and superstition and as a result they resist change and take time to adopt new traditions.

But I believe the club's choice is a good one and I can only hope that one day it'll be sung with the spine-tingling passion of "You'll Never Walk Alone" at Anfield. For those of you who don't know the words, here they are.


The Wonder of You

When no-one else can understand me
When everything I do is wrong
You give me hope and consolation
You give me strength to carry on

And you're always there to lend a hand
In everything I do
Thats the wonder
The wonder of you

And when you smile the world is brighter
You touch my hand and Im a king
Your kiss to me is worth a fortune
Your love for me is everything

I guess I'll never know the reason why
You love me like you do
Thats the wonder
The wonder of you



As a matter of interest Port Vale have been running out to the sound of "The Wonder of You", so technically we're stealing it from them but that's no big issue. I'm pretty sure that 60,000 Arsenal fans singing the song at the Grove will sound a lot better than a three or four thousand singing it at Vale Park.

Just remember that both Celtic and Fulham both claim to have been singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" before it was adopted by Liverpool. So it's not about who sung it first, it's more about who does it best.

So sing up and bring a scarf.