Thought I'd jump in and risk the wrath of the 'non-QPR' onslaught! Speaking of onslaught, Ireland or England??......
I'm sure you know where my allegiances lie mate. Although I have to say that I think Ireland will probably win. I make them slight favourites being at home and the way the fixtures are this year, I can see them marching to the Grand Slam if they win tomorrow. Should be a cracker!
Neck and neck, Col (although these guys don't have necks, do they)?! The winner has a chance of going the whole way.......
England to win if they bring their 'A' game. Ireland are always a difficult game in Dublin but we're building up a head of steam and our confidence will be high. Winners of this should go all the way...
Very big game, I'm hoping that it really does snow in the Midlands tomorrow so my sons match is postponed and we can watch this (though he follows Wales, due to his Mum..) Ireland to shade it - home advantage, experience, canny approach to the rules and the O'Driscoll factor (only a couple more home games to go) to beat an England team at last beginning to play expansive rugby. But this could be the last Irish win for a few years.....winners should make the Grand Slam, though this is tougher for England because everybody ups their game against us.
By the way, anyone going to the game? I will be in the Sandymount Hotel from 12 oiling up my 'anti-chariot' voice!
Swing low, sweet chariot, Comin' for to carry me home; Swing low, sweet chariot, Comin' for to carry me home. I looked over Jordan, And what did I see, Comin' for to carry me home, A band of angels comin' after me, Comin' for to carry me home. Swing low, sweet chariot, Comin' for to carry me home; Swing low, sweet chariot, Comin' for to carry me home. If you get there before I do, Comin' for to carry me home, Tell all my friends I'm comin' too, Comin' for to carry me home. Swing low, sweet chariot, Comin' for to carry me home; Swing low, sweet chariot, Comin' for to carry me home.
Sorry Col, but the significance of mainly white, middle class, middle aged men (i.e like me) singing a slave song about yearning for death has always eluded me......makes me cringe a bit.
Oh come on!! It's a song mate. So now I'm glorying in the slavery of men by printing the lyrics? It was just meant as a bit of harmless banter with Corker, as he mentioned it............Jeez!! (SORRY IF THIS HAS CAUSED ANY OFFENCE!!)
Has anyone ever asked why it is sung? My only connection is that the scrum might be the chariot? All very strange...
I have never, ever tried to make any connection with the lyrics, other than to make the "****ing" sign when the "coming" bit was sung etc.
my your skin is thin, and jumping to conclusions , didn't mention you glorying in slavery did I? Perhaps I was clumsy, but like Sooper, I don't get the connection to England. I'll look it up somewhere, see if I can find out. But the Welsh and Irish songs are Welsh and Irish... this isn't English. Its stirring and I've sung it myself at Twickenham, but always thought afterwards - - huh, wtf has that got to do with me, let alone rugby?
Not thin skinned at all...............but you did infer that I was out of order to post a song by slaves. OTT imho. You'll never walk alone is a song from the musical, Carousel. No connection to football at all........yet most people would say Liverpool if you asked them to connect the song to anything. Songs don't have to be relevant to the Country or team singing them.
well this is what wiki says, which looks a bit dodgy to me. Reckon a few pissed up rugby club members just started singing it and others joined in, and its stuck for England games. Weird if it is only from 1988 in internationals though......give me Molly Malone, Wild Rover or even Calon Lan "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" has been sung by rugby players and fans for some decades,[3] but became associated with the English national side, in particular, in 1988. Coming into the last match of the 1988 season, against Ireland at Twickenham, England had lost 15 of their previous 23 matches in the Five Nations Championship. The Twickenham crowd had only seen one solitary England try in the previous two years and at half time against Ireland they were 0–3 down. However during the second half England scored six tries to give them a 35–3 win. Three of the tries came in quick succession from Chris Oti, a black player making his Twickenham debut. A group from the Benedictine school Douai started to sing a rugby club favourite – the gospel hymn "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" – in honour of their new hero, large sections of the crowd joined in. The song is still regularly sung at matches by supporters.[3][4][5] There are associated gestures, sometimes used in a drinking game, which requires those who wrongly perform the gestures to buy a round of drinks.[6][7]
Here is the full story behind it: Coming into the last match of the 1988 season, against Ireland at Twickenham, England had lost 15 of their previous 23 matches in the Five Nations Championship. The Twickenham crowd had only seen one solitary England try in the previous two years and at half time against Ireland they were 0-3 down. During the second half the floodgates opened and England scored a remarkable six tries in a thumping 35-3 win. Three of the tries came in quick succession from Chris Oti, a black player making his Twickenham debut. A group from the Benedictine school Douai started to sing a rugby club favourite – the gospel hymn Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – in honour of their new hero, the whole crowd joined in. Since then it was adobted as a regular song by the english team.
