Defend the Indefensible: "Take Me Out To The Ballgame"

Along with "Happy Birthday" and "The Star-Spangled Banner," most statesiders probably internalize this melody before they can even speak in full sentences.

It's place in the ceremony of the seventh-inning stretch also helps it slip past the usual filters - like the anthem, it's just a thing that's done.

But it occurred to me today that it's really quite horrible. Think about a song that sounds best on a stadium organ and let that sink in.

Then defend, if you dare.

fuck you

^^^realist post

haha realest

I guess I never even really considered not liking this song.

Some people have too much time to "think."

http://homepage2.nifty.com/backpagerecords/JamesBrownThink.jpg

You actually like this song? They only sing it at Wrigley Field as a tribute to Harry Caray, not because anyone likes it.

Are there still people out there who are this serious and sentimental?

I remember playing an arrangement of this song in high school jazz band that was pretty fun. I think this is it:

http://www.milesosland.com/mp3/take_me_ballgame.mp3

So, yeah, sentimental.

Hell, the Star Spangled Banner is a better song, musically speaking.

oooh smackdown u s steel

the melody has a nice swinging quality...it doesn't have an iota of subtlety, but it's not that bad, really...

very early example of product placement in a popular song...

I wouldn't put on a 7" to listen at home, but it can be fun to sing when you are a little drunk and having a good time in a baseball stadium.

Throngs and throngs of people can sing this song with pleasure. What more do you want from a song? It's way way way up there with John-Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt. I mean, "Don't Look Back In Anger" is kind of a mild version of the vein of gold struck in this song.

I don't dig it in an "oooh, it's THAT SONG!!!" kinda way, but I can't imagine disliking it. It's even kind of clever in its dopey, sing-along drunkenness.

with respect drink a jumbo beer in a plastic cup eat some nachoes and stfu

surprised nobody's attempted a "disco demolition" remix of this...

Not quite a demolition (and not at all disco) but there's the Skeletons' fun alteration, where the lyrics are sung one beat ahead of the tune throughout. "Take me / Out to the ball game take me / Out to the crowd buy me / Some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don't," etc. Try singing it that way at the ballpark while everyone else is on track -- it's hard!

Are there still people out there who are this serious and sentimental?

― u s steel, Monday, January 19, 2009 2:45 AM Bookmark

I would consider the folks too cool for "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" to be the overly serious ones.

it's pretty much the only song i hear at the stadium that doesn't make me want to kill somebody. kernkraft + who let the dogs out, please die now.

the "skol vikings" song is the joint for real:

When my daughter was a tiny baby, whenever she got fussy and upset I would sing her this song and it would generally settle her down. So, CLASSIC.

Neil Young thought enough of "Take Me Out..." to include a snippet in "Broken Arrow", an early example of his American mythologizing or whatever. (It's doubtful that many Buffalo Springfield fans would've recognized the "Hockey Night In Canada" theme - which wouldn't even exist for another year or so anyways.)

This might be the dumbest idea for a thread that I've ever seen on ILM. A song seeped in 100 years of sports tradition that's perfect for singing outdoors in summertime by tens of thousands of people both young and old -- yeah, I can't imagine why anyone would want to defend that.

Defend the indefensible...Abba "Dancing Queen"

Also, that song, "M-O-T-H-E-R (A Word that Means the World to ME)". That song is kind of corny.

Every last corny thing at a baseball game = obvious classic.

The worse the singer, the more "enjoyable" it is. Come on, this is some old hokey crap your great-great grandparents probably hated.

Try more beer.

How can I defend the episode where The Hold Steady jumped the shark?

The worse the singer, the more "enjoyable" it is. Come on, this is some old hokey crap your great-great grandparents probably hated.

― u s steel, Tuesday, January 20, 2009 7:56 AM (14 hours ago) Bookmark

I see ilx's headache persists...

Harpo plays "Take me out to the ball game" on I love Lucy

Defend the indefensible...Abba "Dancing Queen"

― Lettuce C.U.P. (PappaWheelie V), Tuesday, January 20, 2009 1:51 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

"Take Me Out to the Ballgame" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Dancing Queen"

Oh, Rev, that's not the point.

This thread frustrates me because it's all "I hate that corny part of the game" vs. "corny parts of the game are fun".

This song is a legitimate tin pan alley song that was a HUGE hit in it's time, confusing 78 collectors to this day as to who did and didn't record it (insert '78 collectors so weird' thread, here).

To me it's the same as saying "I saw High Society. It was no Philadelphia Story, so fuck that Cole Porter guy."

But for those who are all "it's a fun part of the game", yeah, that Abba thread rings true.

Eh, sorry but I don't like that song at all or the way anyone who doesn't like it gets batted down with "You don't understand pop!" I realize that's a bit hypocritical given my statements on this thread. With nothing against pop songs, I tend to both be deeply suspicious of and strongly dislike almost anything that gets held up as some sort of example of the ersatz pop song. Don't get me started on anything by the Beach Boys.

i was thinking last night that "Let Him Run Wild" by the Beach Boys might be the greatest moment in history :-(

Harpo plays "Take me out to the ball game" on I love Lucy

― your cussin' cousin (PappaWheelie V), Tuesday, January 20, 2009

ONLY VIABLE DEFENSE THUS FAR

katie casey vs. nelly kelly, fite.

BethnJulia (4 months ago) Show Hide +4 Marked as spam Reply

He was. He could bring an audience to tears of laughter with his antics then just plain tears with his beautiful harp playing. He taught himself to play & developed his own unorthodox technique. Harp players thereafter would ask him to teach them his method of playing. There'll never be another like Harpo. He was so sweet and gentle. He didn't even speak, let alone use dirty words to get a laugh. I'm just happy we can watch so much of him on YT.

OMGitsTangy (1 week ago) Show Hide 0 Marked as spam Reply

shut up dumb bitch

???