On the Need for a Nationals Novelty Song

I grew up a Chicago Cubs fan. The Cubbies are still my first love, though when I moved to Maryland six years ago I adopted the Nats as my local team (passing over the closer O’s) because the Nats needed the love. The Cubs have given me many things over the years — they’ve given me hope, they’re broken my heart, they’ve taught me patience.

And they’ve given me novelty songs. Steve Goodman’s “Go Cubs Go.” Eddie Vedder’s “All the Way.” The first, a rousing song written about the 1984 team. The last, a melancholy song about the travails of the long-suffering Cubs fan. Inspiring songs. Even beloved songs. Songs that speak to being a fan.

The Nats haven’t given me those things yet. Exciting baseball, yes. A gorgeous stadium, yes. Teddy, absolutely. But I have to ask. Where’s the Nationals’ novelty song?

Where’s the song that personifies Nationals fandom? Where’s the song that encapsulates the season? Where is “Go Nats Go”?

I don’t know what the song would be. A song about Strasburg’s arm, Harper’s eye black, Werth’s beard, Clippard’s specs, and Teddy’s futility would be good for this season, but perhaps the song should be something timeless, in the way that “Go Cubs Go” is timeless.

Nor do I know the local DC music scene well enough to take a guess at who would write such a novelty song. I started thinking about this last night on Twitter, but the bands that came to mind probably wouldn’t work — or be interested. (However, I suggested Carbon Leaf on Twitter, and they weren’t dismissive of the idea.)

That’s the trouble with writing a Nationals song. A Cubs song makes sense because there’s a long-established (and long-suffering) fanbase and being a Cubs fan means something. There are no natural Nats fans, the team’s too young and the fan-suffering too shallow.

Still, I’d love a Nationals song for this season. Natitude need a novelty song.

Published by Allyn

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over ten years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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