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Take Me Out to the Ball Game: The Song Lyrics and Their Cultural Impact



"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song.[1] The song's chorus is traditionally sung as part of the seventh-inning stretch of a baseball game. Fans are generally encouraged to sing along, and at some ballparks, the words "home team" are replaced with the team name.




take me out to the ball game the song lyrics



Katie Casey was baseball mad,Had the fever and had it bad.Just to root for the home town crew,Ev'ry sou1Katie blew.On a Saturday her young beauCalled to see if she'd like to goTo see a show, but Miss Kate said "No,I'll tell you what you can do:"ChorusTake me out to the ball game,Take me out with the crowd;Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,I don't care if I never get back.Let me root, root, root for the home team,If they don't win, it's a shame.For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,At the old ball game.Katie Casey saw all the games,Knew the players by their first names.Told the umpire he was wrong,All along,Good and strong.When the score was just two to two,Katie Casey knew what to do,Just to cheer up the boys she knew,She made the gang sing this song:


The song (or at least its chorus) has been recorded or cited countless times since it was written. The original music and 1908 lyrics of the song are now in the public domain in the United States (worldwide copyright remains until 70 years after the composers' deaths), but the copyright to the revised 1927 lyrics remains in effect.[9] It has been used as an instrumental underscore or introduction to many films or skits having to do with baseball.


In the mid-1990s, a Major League Baseball ad campaign featured versions of the song performed by musicians of several different genres. An alternative rock version by the Goo Goo Dolls was also recorded.[10] Multiple genre Louisiana singer-songwriter Dr. John and pop singer Carly Simon both recorded different versions of the song for the PBS documentary series Baseball, by Ken Burns.[11]


In 2001, Nike aired a commercial featuring a diverse group of Major League Baseball players singing lines of the song in their native languages. The players and languages featured were Ken Griffey Jr. (American English), Alex Rodriguez (Caribbean Spanish), Chan Ho Park (Korean), Kazuhiro Sasaki (Japanese), Graeme Lloyd (Australian English), Éric Gagné (Québécois French), Andruw Jones (Dutch), John Franco (Italian), Iván Rodríguez (Caribbean Spanish), and Mark McGwire (American English).[12]


A 1954 version by Stuart McKay [13] shifted the lyrics two syllables forward to make the song end surprisingly early. In McKay's version the initial "Take me" was sung as an unaccented pickup, causing the final "Game" to land on the same note as "Old" in the original, and leaving last two notes unsung.


In 2006, Gatorade used an instrumental version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in a commercial over video highlights of the United States Men's National Soccer Team in the lead-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, closing with the tagline "It's a whole new ballgame."


In 2008, Andy Strasberg, Bob Thompson and Tim Wiles (from the Baseball Hall of Fame) wrote a comprehensive book on the history of the song, Baseball's Greatest Hit: The Story of 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game'. The book, published by Hal Leonard Books, included a CD with 16 different recordings of the song from various points in time, ranging from a 1908 recording by Fred Lambert, to a seventh-inning-stretch recording by Harry Caray.


Also in 2008, a parody of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was sung during an episode of the third season of the American game show Deal or No Deal on NBC. The contestant of that episode, Garrett Smith, was a baseball aficionado and a proud Atlanta Braves fan who even hoped to play for the team as a catcher. However, the lyrics were changed to lyrics that showed disdain for Smith, as this was a song that was penned by the Banker who then encouraged the in-studio audience to sing it to him.[15]


The NHL used the song to promote the 2009 NHL Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings taking place at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day, 2009. At the time, it was the first Winter Classic to take place in a baseball stadium.


In 1985, it was featured in Kidsongs "A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm", which shows the kids playing baseball. Also, Kirk Gibson of the Detroit Tigers is seen hitting a home run during the 1984 World Series.


Nelly Kelly loved baseball gamesShe knew the players and all of their namesYou could see her up there every dayShouting "hurray" as they'd playHer boy friend by the name of JoeSaid, "To Coney Island, dear, let's go"So Nelly started to fret and poutAnd to him I heard her shout"Take me out to the ball gameTake me out with the crowdOh won't you buy me some peanuts and some cracker jackWell I don't care if I never get backLet me root, root, root for the home teamIf they don't win it's a shameBecause it's one, two, three strikes, you're outAt the old ball game"Mmmm, mmmWell Nelly Kelly was sure some fanShe would root just like any manTold the umpire he was wrongAll along, good and strongSo when the score was just two to twoNelly Kelly knew just what to doWell just to cheer up the boys she knewShe made the gang sing this song"Take me out to the ball gameTake me out with the crowdOh won't you buy me some peanuts and some cracker jackWell I don't care if I never get back (I don't care if I never get back)Let me root, root, root for the home teamIf they don't win it's a shameBecause it's one, two, three strikes, you're outAt the old ball gameAt the old ball gameAt the old ball game"Strike one!Strike two!Strike three!You're out!!!!


Children SongsTake Me Out to the Ball GameDebuted inThree WishesMusic byAlbert Von TilzerLyrics byJack NorworthPreviousNextMr. KnickerbockerI See the Moon"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song. Its first appearance in the Barney franchise was in "Three Wishes".


The lyrics of the song seem to address the political leaders and decision-makers who hold people's lives in their hands as they pull the levers of power. It's a beautiful song with an important message wrapped up in gorgeous two-part harmony.


The song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" was released. Since then it has been sung during nearly every single seventh-inning stretch, which when you think about it, is one of the weirder and more delightful traditions in sport.


Today, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is synonymous with the seventh-inning stretch, but that tradition wasn't popularized in the major leagues until Harry Caray started singing it in the 1970s. In fact, the song wasn't even introduced in ballparks, but theaters.


It was released Oct. 31, 1908, after one of the most exciting seasons in the sport's history, and first heard in The Amphion on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, according to the book "Baseball's Greatest Hit." At the time, there was a long delay during movies while film reels were changed, and the pause was filled by an illustrated song. Slides were shown in conjunction with a song, which would be sung by a house vocalist and accompanied by a pianist in an early version of today's music videos. Photos for "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" were taken at the Polo Grounds in New York, and after the song and slides were finished, the lyrics were shown on the screen with an invitation for the audience to sing along. Within a few years, millions of copies of the sheet music were sold. By 1911, most movie houses had two projectors, ending illustrated song plays, but the popularity of "Take Me Out to the Ballgames" was established.


Lyricist Jack Norworth said he was inspired by a sign he saw on a New York subway that said, "BALL GAME TODAY AT THE POLO GROUNDS," and he wrote the words in less than 30 minutes on the train. He also claimed he didn't see a professional ballgame until 20 years later, though the book "Baseball's Greatest Hit" disputes that. Composer Albert Von Tilzer, an Indianapolis native, said his inspiration came from the phrase, "One, two, three strikes you're out." "It had sock," Von Tilzer said in the book. "I finally worked it into a song and Jack wrote the lyrics." The two never collaborated on another song, though the reason is not known.


Von Tilzer composed songs that sold more than 1 million copies, and would hardly be described as a rabid baseball fan. Yet the headline of his New York Times obituary in 1956 reads: Albert Von Tilzer Is Dead at 78; Wrote 'Take Me Out to Ball Game.' Von Tilzer grew up as one of five brothers in Indianapolis, living at 434 S. Illinois St., according to an April 1985 article in Indianapolis Monthly.


Albert's brother Harry left home in 1888 at the age of 16 as a comic and balladeer for a touring company, according to an Indianapolis Star article, and ended up in New York in 1893. Albert moved to New York after his brother was established in the music business, supported himself as a shoe salesman in Brooklyn and had his first song -- "The Absent-Minded Beggar Waltz" -- published in 1900.


His first popular songs came in 1902 with "Tell Me The Beautiful Story" and "That's What The Daisy Said." Albert parted from his brother Harry and organized a publishing house with another brother, Jack, in 1903, when "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" was published. Among Von Tilzer's most popular songs were "O by Jingle," "Roll Along Prairie Moon," "Heart of my Hears" and "Oh How She Could Yacki Hacki Wicki Wacki Woo." His songs became less popular due to changing tastes, but he had success writing musical comedies for Broadway in the 1920s, including "The Gingham Girl" and "Bye Bye Bonnie." 2ff7e9595c


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