ZING MEE!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Aan het eind van het eerste deel van de zevende inning is het een Amerikaanse traditie dat iedereen gaat staan en massaal meezingt en meedeint met "Take Me Out The The Ballgame". Het is bedoeld om de spieren te strekken en met z'n allen plezier te maken. Zingt en beweegt u mee?

De tekst

Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks
I don't care if I never get back

We will root, root, root for the hometeam
If they don't win it's a shame
And it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ballgame

Stukje geschiedenis

Dit lied is geschreven in 1908 door Jack Norworth. Op een dag zat hij in de ondergrondse van Ney York City toen hij een bord zag waarop stond "Ballgame Today at the Polo Grounds.". Er schoten hem wat honkbal-lyrics door het hoofd die later door Albert Von Tilzer omgezet zijn in het welbekende honkbal-lied, "Take Me Out The The Ballgame". Ondanks het feit dat zowel Norworth als Tilzer nog nooit bij een honkbal wedstrijd geweest waren tijdens het schrijven van het lied, is het toch het meest gezongen lied in Amerika geworden.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

1908 Version

Author: Jack Norworth
Composer: Albert Von Tilzer
Published on: 1908, 1927
Published by: York Music Company

Katie Casey was base ball mad.
Had the fever and had it bad;
Just to root for the home town crew,
Ev'ry sou Katie blew.
On a Saturday, he young beau
Called to see if she'd like to go,
To see a show but Miss Kate said,
"No, I'll tell you what you can do."

"Take 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:

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

1927 Version

Author: Jack Norworth ©
Composer: Albert Von Tilzer
Published on: 1908, 1927
Published by: York Music Company

Nelly Kelly love baseball games,
Knew the players, knew all their names,
You could see her there ev'ry day,
Shout "Hurray," when they'd play.
Her boy friend by the name of Joe
Said, "To Coney Isle, dear, let's go,"
Then Nelly started to fret and pout,
And to him I heard her shout.

Nelly Kelly was sure some fan,
She would root just like any man,
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along, good and strong.
When the score was just two to two,
Nelly Kelly knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Fast Facts

On the fiftieth anniversary of his song, Major League Baseball, Inc. presented Jack Norworth — who attended his first Major League ballgame on June 27, 1940 (Brooklyn Dodgers 5 vs. Chicago Cubs 4) — with a gold lifetime ball park pass.

Harry Caray, who is credited with singing it first at a ball game in 1971, once said, "I would always sing it, because I think it's the only song I knew the words to!" On Opening Day in 1976 Bill Veeck noticed the fans were singing along with Caray so a secret microphone was placed in the broadcast booth the following day to allow ALL the fans to hear him. Veeck explained to Caray, "Harry, anybody in the ballpark hearing you sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game knows that he can sing as well as you can. Probably better than you can. So he or she sings along. Hell, if you had a good singing voice you'd intimidate them, and nobody would join in!"

Did you know that Jack Norworth wrote over 2,500 songs, including Shine On, Harvest Moon, and several other baseball songs, but none more famous than Take Me Out to the Ball Game?