The song was released by Scottish "new wave" band the Skids in 1979 and the only link between the song and Charlton is the word Valley. Have the original vinyl version somewhere in the loft. No idea what the song is about as most of the Richard Jobson's lyrics in the song are unintelligible to a non-scottish ear.
Sure I heard somewhere that Bradford City also use it on match days as they play at Valley Parade.
The song was released by Scottish "new wave" band the Skids in 1979 and the only link between the song and Charlton is the word Valley. Have the original vinyl version somewhere in the loft. No idea what the song is about as most of the Richard Jobson's lyrics in the song are unintelligible to a non-scottish ear.
Sure I heard somewhere that Bradford City also use it on match days as they play at Valley Parade.
Wikipedia's entry about the song
"Into the Valley" is a 1979 single by Skids, taken off their Scared to Dance album, and is their best known song, appearing on a number of punk rock and Scottish music compilation albums. It reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart for the week ending 24 March 1979.[1] It was written by Richard Jobson and Stuart Adamson.
"Into the Valley" is still used as a theme song for fans of Dunfermline Athletic F.C. in the Scottish Premier League and Charlton Athletic F.C. of the English Football League Championship, whose stadium is aptly named The Valley. It was also used in their premiership years by Bradford City A.F.C., whose stadium is named Valley Parade.
The song's lyrics are notoriously unintelligible owing to Jobson's diction.[2][unreliable source?][dead link] This has been sent up in a Maxell television advertisement which features printed (incorrect) "translations" of the words.[3] The chorus, often misquoted, is actually "Ahoy, Ahoy, Land, Sea and Sky".
Richard Jobson has said that the lyrics were written about the recruitment of Scottish youths into the army and more specifically about a friend who had been killed on a tour of duty in Northern Ireland.[4][5]
Local legend still persists that the valley mentioned is a reference to the village of High Valleyfield, known locally as "the Valley"[6] a village with a reputation for "mini warfare" between its own residents and those of nearby towns and villages (namely Torryburn, Rosyth, Oakley and Inverkeithing), near the Skids' home town of Dunfermline.[citation needed]
The song was covered by street punk band the Street Dogs on their 2008 album State of Grace.
Comments
We have been known to play the song on match days though.
Sure I heard somewhere that Bradford City also use it on match days as they play at Valley Parade.
"Into the Valley" is a 1979 single by Skids, taken off their Scared to Dance album, and is their best known song, appearing on a number of punk rock and Scottish music compilation albums. It reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart for the week ending 24 March 1979.[1] It was written by Richard Jobson and Stuart Adamson.
"Into the Valley" is still used as a theme song for fans of Dunfermline Athletic F.C. in the Scottish Premier League and Charlton Athletic F.C. of the English Football League Championship, whose stadium is aptly named The Valley. It was also used in their premiership years by Bradford City A.F.C., whose stadium is named Valley Parade.
The song's lyrics are notoriously unintelligible owing to Jobson's diction.[2][unreliable source?][dead link] This has been sent up in a Maxell television advertisement which features printed (incorrect) "translations" of the words.[3] The chorus, often misquoted, is actually "Ahoy, Ahoy, Land, Sea and Sky".
Richard Jobson has said that the lyrics were written about the recruitment of Scottish youths into the army and more specifically about a friend who had been killed on a tour of duty in Northern Ireland.[4][5]
Local legend still persists that the valley mentioned is a reference to the village of High Valleyfield, known locally as "the Valley"[6] a village with a reputation for "mini warfare" between its own residents and those of nearby towns and villages (namely Torryburn, Rosyth, Oakley and Inverkeithing), near the Skids' home town of Dunfermline.[citation needed]
The song was covered by street punk band the Street Dogs on their 2008 album State of Grace.