The Original Songs of the AFL

I was on the ferry the other morning and I heard the strains of a song that made my stomach churn.  However, something didn't seem quite right.  Intently listening to the lyrics, I realized they were all different too.  Here's what I heard:

For those whom it doesn't sound familiar, maybe these famous refrains will: (and you have no idea how much it pains me to post this video)

Let's forget for a minute that it's funny how the writer of the Sydney Swans' victory song is a 1905 graduate of Notre Dame and compare only the first few notes.  Doesn't that marching band sound so much more impressive than that little "trumpet on a keyboard" ditty?  I must say though, that those echoes are long dead.  See, I can't say too many nice things about ND. 

The AFL is the Australian Rules Football League, and isn't very popular in Queensland - here, rugby is king.  The AFL is hugely popular in Melbourne (in fact it used to be called the Victorian Football League) and Southern and Western Australia. This whole episode got me thinking that if one AFL team didn't create their own fight song, maybe others followed suit.  Thirty seconds on google proved me correct. Check out this gem:

Now that to me sounds eerily similar to the US Marines Corps Hymn:

 

After a little research, it appears both songs are based on a duet in an 1850 opera.  But after watching, I think everyone will agree that the Crows' song is much more likely an imitation of the USMC Hymn rather than a different interpretation of the original duet:

Next up - the Hawthorne Hawks!

My trusty encyclopedia informs me that "Yankee Doodle Dandy" was written by George Cohan for a musical in 1904.  Somewhat surprisingly, he wasn't from Hawthorne, but instead hailed from New York.

OK, who would have thought that the AFL loved Geoge Cohan so much?  Because a team in Melbourne "samples" one of his other favorites, Grand Old Flag, which he wrote for the 1906 musical George Washington Jr.   I don't think this has to be said, but I'm going to say it anyway - Cohan wrote the song about Old Glory, not for some sports team in a faraway British colony.  Compare for yourself:

Just to show that the football teams don't only take songs from the US, here's one of my favorite national anthems:

 

Wait a second, that's not it!

There, that's better.  Although it always surprises me how bloody the lyrics are, it's my favorite national anthem.

Why does it seem like all these remakes were done by a teenager on a keyboard?  If you're going to remake a song, then you should aim to improve on it.  Or at the very least, take a different interpretation and make something your own (like the USMC did with Gendarmes Duet).  All the AFL examples are blatant, dumbed down copies of iconic originals.