Football Chants and the Continuity of the Blason Populaire Tradition
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Football Chants and the Continuity of the Blason Populaire Tradition Joanne Luhrs A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy National Centre for English Cultural Tradition University of Sheffield December 2007 Abstract This study explores the role of football chants in the continuity of the little-known traditional linguistic genre of blason populaire. In brief, the term blason populaire refers to the traditional expressions of group identities and rivalries. While some older forms of blason populaire have declined significantly during the last hundred years, such as the older village rhyme and some county nicknames, it has emerged that football chants are a major vehicle keeping the genre alive in England today (Green and Widdowson 2003). Sung week in and week out at football grounds across the country offering boasts of the merits of one team against the deficiencies of the opposing team's representatives, they are an example of how blason populaire is being carried forward into the twenty-first century. Based on ethnographic data collected during participant observation at football matches and interviews with football fans, the study explores the nature of the football chants to assess how they resemble the themes and functions of blason populaire. as well as the ways in which they create, maintain and contest the identities and rivalries so crucial to the genre. Current issues surrounding the use of football chants, such as censorship, are also considered due to the wider implications they could have on the future of blason populaire. Contents Page Number Acknowledgements List of tables and figures 1. Introduction 1.1 General introduction 1 1.2 Aims 3 1.3 Overview 5 2. An Introduction to the Blason Populaire Tradition 2.1 Introduction 7 2.2 What is blason populaire? 7 2.3 Functions 8 2.4 Forms 13 2.5 Content 22 2.6 Levels 25 2.7 Causes of change 32 2.8 The effects of political correctness 37 3. Football Chants Today: Identity, Folklore and Transmission 3.1 Introduction 43 3.2 Football and identity 43 3.3 Football chants and identity 51 3.4 Football chants and folklore 56 3.5 Football chants today:- issues of transmission 60 3.6 Summary 66 4. Methodology 4.1 Introduction 67 4.2 Qualitative versus quantitative research 67 4.3 Participant observation 71 4.4 Interviews 89 4.5 Internet research 93 4.6 Overview 94 5. The Integrative Football Chant 5.1 Introduction 95 5.2 The anthem 98 5.3 The integrative club chant 106 5.4 The integrative player/manager chant 125 5.5 The integrative fan chant 131 5.6 The integrative location chant 137 5.7 Summary 139 6. The Divisive Football Chant 6.1 Introduction 140 6.2 The divisive club chant 143 6.3 The divise player/manager chant 150 6.4 The divisive fan chant 159 6.5 The divisive location chant 169 6.6 The divisive referee chant 171 6.7 The divisive police chant 172 6.8 The divisive other chant 173 6.9 Summary 175 7. Football Chants and the Construction of Masculinity 7.1 Introduction 177 7.2 Football: a male world 177 7.3 Blason populaire and gender 184 7.4 All boys together: male bonding 189 7.5 Emasculating the rival 193 7.6 Summary 204 8. The Future of the Divisive Football Chant: • Issues of Censorship 8.1 Introduction 206 8.2 The censorship of traditional language 206 8.3 The censorship of football chants 209 8.4 Problems of censorship: a case study 216 8.5 Implications of censorship on the divisive football chant 230 8.6 Summary 232 9. Conclusion 233 Bibliography 239 Appendices 250 Appendix 1: Observed matches 251 Appendix 2: Integative chants 253 Appendix 3: Divisive chants 280 Appendix 4: Miscellaneous chants 297 Appendix 5: Tunes of chants 298 Appendix 6: Interview guide 300 Acknowledgements A number of people have provided me with valuable assistance during the writing and preparation of this thesis. Firstly, special thanks are due to my supervisor, Professor Joan Beal, for her support and encouragement throughout the study, as well as for her invaluable comments and enthusiasm that have guided me through it. I am also grateful to Professor Katie Wales for reading my drafts thoroughly and providing useful insights. I am indebted to Professor John Widdowson for introducing me to blason populaire during our work together on traditional language change, and for encouraging me to explore this little-known genre further. His work on the subject and his enthusiasm for it have been inspirational. I would also like to thank Jill Redford, archivist at the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition at the University of Sheffield for continually locating relevant archival material for me. The following football clubs have been of great assistance during my fieldwork and have made it possible for me to attend fixtures I might not have otherwise been able to, by kindly offering to provide match-day tickets: Aston Villa, Charlton Athletic, Millwall, Notts County, Rochdale, Rotherham, Scunthorpe United, Sheffield Wednesday, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, and York City. For this I am deeply grateful. A special thank you is also extended to my informants who very kindly gave up their time to talk to me about their experiences as football fans, giving me a glimpse into their lives. Thanks is also given to the many thousands of football fans who have made this study possible by continuing to sing so passionately in support of their clubs week in and week out, despite the ever-increasing challenges that they face. I would like to express my gratitude to my family, who have supported me throughout the study and shown incredible interest in my work. In particular, I would like to thank my parents, Josie and Keith Green, for their constant encouragement and confidence in me. Finally, heartfelt thanks are given to my husband Matthew and our son Noah. To Matthew, for help with practical matters such as proofreading chapters, technical assistance, and attending matches with me but most of all for his continued emotional support. encouragement and for believing in me. To Noah. thank you for never failing to make me smile. especially during times of stress. I could not have done this without either of you. Suffice to say. any faults that remain are my own. List of Tables and Figures Page Number Tables 2.1 Sub-genres of blason populaire 14 2.2 Referential levels of blason populaire 26 4.1 The database 83 Figures 4.1 Response from clubs 76 5.1 Integrative sub-categories 97 6.1 Divisive sub-categories 142 7.1 Integrative and divisive expressions of masculinity 194 7.2 Insultternns 195 1. Introduction 1.1 General introduction My motivation for this thesis arose out of my work as research associate on an AHRB-funded research project entitled "Traditional English Language Genres, 1950-2000: Continuity and Change", led by Professor John Widdowson at the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition (NATCECT), University of Sheffield between 2000 and 2003 (Green and Widdowson 2003).1 It aimed to explore continuity and change in five traditional language genres in England between 1950 and 2000, looking at proverbial usage; traditional sayings and expressions; rhymes and riddles; blason populaire; and the language of children's traditional play and games. A survey of existing material in the Archives of Cultural Tradition at NATCECT, consisting mainly of student projects and theses and additional material from the Survey of Language and Folklore held there, was conducted to provide an insight into past usage, whilst a questionnaire survey was conducted across England to provide up-to-date information on current usage. One of the key findings of the research concerned the little-known genre of blason populaire. It is necessary here to provide only a short description of what exactly the genre is, as chapter two provides a detailed discussion of it. In brief, the genre can be defined as: An expression of one group's outlook and self-image, often involving the implied simultaneous detraction andlor detriment of another (rival) group. (Green and Widdowson 2003 p.9) It was discovered that some older forms of blason populaire had declined, some to the point of obsolescence. For example, village rhymes that had been popular in the nineteenth century, such as "by Tre, Pol and Pen you shall know the Cornish men" and "large parish, poor people, sold the roof to buy the steeple", as well as some county nicknames such as "Kent ish Longtails" and "Essex Calves" were rarely used. However, a more positive finding emerged in that I Since writing this publication, my surname has changed from "Green" to "Luhrs". 1 football chants had replaced the older forms to keep the genre alive in England today. Sung week in and week out at football grounds across the country offering boasts of the merits of one team against the deficiencies of the opposing team's representatives, they are an example of how blason populaire is being carried forward into the twenty-first century. Other scholars have hinted at the connection between football chants and blason populaire. For example, Snell (2003), speaking of "local xenophobia", which shares similar characteristics to divisive forms of blason popuiaire, states: 'Oi can't read and oi can't write, but I can drive a trac-tor' chant the Chelsea football fans to infuriate their rival Ipswich supporters - a modern urban equivalent of a kind of inter-village rivalry and abuse that ran rampant in the past. (p.9) Similarly, Bennett (1990) has linked the nicknames that are applied to football clubs and their supporters, and so often used in the chants, to the genre: Nicknames are still given to people who live in cities, towns and villages but the Milnrow Moonrakers, Shaw Gawbies and Owdham (Oldham) Owls have been attached more recently to the present-day manifestation of the place's representatives - in the shape of football teams, which become representative of group identity ...