The Wheelbarrow song
The Wheelbarrow song is a football chant sung by fans of Notts County Football Club, which goes to the tune of On Top of Old Smoky.
The chant
| “ | I had a wheelbarrow, the wheel fell off,
I had a wheelbarrow, the wheel fell off, I had a wheelbarrow, the wheel fell off, I had a wheelbarrow, the wheel fell off, County, County, County, County |
” |
Origin
There are many different stories about where the song started. Some believe it was when a groundsman was on the pitch at half time with a wheelbarrow. As he cut the corner of the pitch near the corner flag, the wheel fell off and he spoke to the County fans and a terrace chant was born, sang from one end of Meadow Lane to the other like a giant game of vocal ping pong. Another version is the song derived from an interview with Neil Warnock in the local press. Which Neil stated that 'When I first came to Notts County all I had was a wheelborrow...and the wheel fell off that' hence the song was born.
The chant, according to the official Club Website originated at a match back on Tuesday 17 April 1990. Notts County were playing away at Shrewsbury Town's former home, Gay Meadow. The Magpies were trailing to two Dean Spink goals and looked to be losing, with less than ten minutes left.
One version of the story, and that on the official Club Website, suggests that the Shrewsbury Supporters were happy and singing On Top of Old Smokey, hence the tune to which the chant is sung. Less credibly this version suggests that because of the strong Shropshire accent, it sounded like "I had a wheel barrow, the wheel fell off," to the Notts County fans. The magpies fans then sang it back as a way of taking the mickey out of them.
According to others the chant came from a group of Notts supporters when one them said 'It looks like the wheel (has) fell off the barrow again' indicating the how the season was yet again not delivering despite starting well. This became 'I had a wheelbarrow and the wheel fell off' - hence the chant.
Singing the Wheelbarrow song, according to fans, had such an effect on the team that they managed to pull back two goals in the last ten minutes to draw the game. The song then accompanied the Notts County team all the way and on into the following season, with another trip to Wembley Stadium and another victory, with 25,000 people singing it beneath the twin towers. It has remained a firm favourite at the world’s oldest football league club ever since. [1][2]
Uses in popular culture
The song has been mentioned by numerous football commentators on television and radio, including the BBC's John Motson during a live commentary at White Hart Lane. It has also been sung by Jimmy Willan in the TV show Paradise Heights in which Ralf Little played a Notts County fan.
In April 2011 I Had a Wheelbarrow was the title of a book by author Luke Williamson. The book documented a fans story of the 2009/10 League Two season during which Notts County sealed promotion to League One with Sven-Göran Eriksson and Sol Campbell featuring in the story.
References
- ↑ http://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/article/wheelbarrow-song-notts-county-magpies-shrewsbury-town-gay-meadow-2400134.aspx
- ↑ Commentary on Facebook - Mick[] the song came from a group of notts lads at shrewsbury when we was 0-2 down reg[] simon[] and shaun[] and myself bore witness to it , one if the lads said looks like the wheels fell off the barrow again hence the start of the wheelbarrow song...· 15 February at 17:22 - Reg[] Indeed we were amongst the first to sing and due to Notts's fightback an anthem was born· 15 February at 17:44