One of the many reasons I love going to watch Cardiff City play is the atmosphere. During the dark days of Ole and Slade, you could have heard a pin drop (whoever has one of those?) in the Cardiff City Stadium and that really showed how far the club had fallen since the intimidating atmospheres generated at the dearly beloved, Ninian Park.
Ever since Neil Warnock has taken the helm at the Bluebirds, the atmosphere in and around the club has improved almost immeasurably. It’s clear to anyone who’s attended a Cardiff game (both home AND away) that when the fan-base is on song, it’s hard to find a louder and more passionate following.
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Recent attempts by media outlets to highlight an apparent “falling-out” with Liverpool supporters over the singing of the “allez, allez, allez” song is a straw man and only serves to highlight that in many ways, the club specific songs are no longer as prominent as they used to be.
I can remember a time when almost every player had their own song, the Jacks were barely mentioned (anyone else bored of “In the Swansea slums?”) and one song above them all seems to be a Bluebirds song at its very heart.
‘I’ll be there, with my little pick n shovel’ has been sung on the terraces of Cardiff City matches for over 90 years. Yes, that’s right, 90 years! It has seen the Bluebirds through thick and lots and lots of thin, has been chanted by grandparents and grandchildren alike, is truly unique to the Bluebirds and should be cherished as such.
Views differ regarding its exact origins, but the general consensus is that it was sung during the General Strike of 1926. A strike in which Welsh miners stayed out beyond their striking partners in the midlands and further north, leading to such songs as “Oh scabby, scabby” still being sung to this day when the Bluebirds play Nottingham Forest.
The song perfectly encapsulates the tough, working family’s ethics at the heart of traditional Cardiff City support. A support that has been forged in the fires of the coal pit and adversity, both in the boardroom and on the pitch. It also reminds the players that through it all, the Bluebirds will always be there with their vociferous support.
For what it’s worth, I love the “Allez, Allez, Allez” song; it really does manage to capture many of our historic moments as a club, but there is and will only ever be one song that is truly Cardiff City and that is “I’ll be there”.
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