Does anyone have old recordings of "On the Ball, City"?

[My spoon is too big! 21]

We've all heard the complaint that OTBC is sung too quickly in the modern age. On top of that my wife says it's hard to tell what the tune is supposed to be, and she has a point. But how can we sing it better if we don't know what it's supposed to sound like?

I've been searching online for any kind of recording (field recording of the terraces in the 1930s, proper studio performance) and the earliest I can find is a video of OTBC being sung in the 2007/08 home fixture against QPR. It's nowhere near old enough to be definitive.

Does anyone have some archive material of the song? Or failing that, some sheet music with the lyrics? Anything that would let us work out how the song really ought to be performed? If so, let's be having it, please.

[My spoon is too big! 21]

Well, a minute after posting that, I found this:

 

[K Lo 221]

We MUST get a piano wheeled out before kick-off and at half-time !!

[TIL 1010 4,718]

[KeiranShikari 1,409]

I remember hearing some old audio of Carrow Road SINGING the anthem on a Snorfolk piece a couple of seasons ago. Something else.

[The Bristol Nest 513]

1 hour ago, My spoon is too big! said:

We've all heard the complaint that OTBC is sung too quickly in the modern age. On top of that my wife says it's hard to tell what the tune is supposed to be, and she has a point. But how can we sing it better if we don't know what it's supposed to sound like?

I've been searching online for any kind of recording (field recording of the terraces in the 1930s, proper studio performance) and the earliest I can find is a video of OTBC being sung in the 2007/08 home fixture against QPR. It's nowhere near old enough to be definitive.

Does anyone have some archive material of the song? Or failing that, some sheet music with the lyrics? Anything that would let us work out how the song really ought to be performed? If so, let's be having it, please.

Scrimmage. That's all I have to say to the fans who don't know our song and yet sing it wrongly every week.

[NWC 239]

I remember seeing a video of some red cutters singing otbc which looked pre war.

[FenwayFrank 2,456]

I’ve never sung. ”never mind your danger” 

[alex_ncfc 644]

Can hear it being sung about 1 minute into this clip, sounds so much better how it was.

http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/923

[Rivvo 257]

How strange, I've always thought it was, bravo, glory, win or die. Don't know where I got that from!

[Coneys Knee 941]

47 minutes ago, alex_ncfc said:

Can hear it being sung about 1 minute into this clip, sounds so much better how it was.

http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/923

I agree. Sounds brilliant sung slowly. Think it’s too late now. It’s a problem for the football terraces these days. Everyone wants to sing things to quickly! That and “eff off Ipswich/lambert” has to be added into or on the end of everything!

 

[My spoon is too big! 21]

Thanks, alex_ncfc, for the archive video. What you can hear of the crowd singing under Frank Bough's commentary sounds great. I wonder if there's a clean recording of the crowd singing somewhere?

I think it would be good to have a version of Football's Oldest Song™ that pays respect to the past but isn't embarrassingly dated. Is anyone else interested in having an updated version recorded?

[Surfer 1,547]

Yes, much better when sung slowly, how about singing the chorus when we start an attack, should be about the right timing if it's sung slowly from one of our fullbacks getting it and us putting it into the net. 

[NCFCInnit 52]

Given our splendid multi racial line up these days I would also like to hear the Norwich City Calypso once more

[splendidrush 699]

15 minutes ago, NCFCInnit said:

Given our splendid multi racial line up these days I would also like to hear the Norwich City Calypso once more

I'm flattered, but I promise I had nothing to do with our multi racial line up. All the credit goes to.... oh well, alright then. 😎