Bournemouth Songs and Famous Chants: From When I See You Bournemouth to Bournemouth Blitz

In some ways, Bournemouth are one of the most underappreciated sides in the English top-flight. The Cherries, as they’re known to their supporters, spent most of their existence in the lower leagues, only making it into the Premier League for the first time ahead of the 2015-2016 season. They have been virtual mainstays since then, apart from a two-year period when they were relegated back into the Championship before being promoted again for the 2022-2023 campaign. They have grown to start punching their weight, putting together a decent squad that can give anyone problems.

As part of that, the supporters have begun to blend together songs from the club’s past with chants that are more modern in nature. Anytime the supporters manage to put together a ditty that isn’t an attack on their fierce rivals of Brighton & Hove Albion, that can only be seen as a good thing. As with all football clubs, many of the songs sung and chants chanted are about players that are at that club at the time, although more than a few are about long-lost performers who the fans took to their hearts during their time in the club’s colours. Given the lack of major trophy success to sing about, that makes sense.

Here is a look at some of the songs that you can expect to hear from Bournemouth supporters when they’re playing against teams both home and away. It is fair to say that this list is not an exhaustive one, so if you don’t see a song or chant on our list that you are reasonably certain you’ve heard from Cherries fans at some point, don’t worry.

When I See You Bournemouth

The corner flag at Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium — The corner flag at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium

There are more than a few supporters that have adapted the song I Just Can’t Get Enough by Depeche Mode for their own uses, with Liverpool being the ones to popularise it in the top-flight when Luis Suárez used to play for them. Bournemouth fans decided to use it not for a player specifically, but instead for the team as a whole. Here is how it goes:

When I see you, Bournemouth,

I go out of my head.

I just can’t get enough!

All the games we win at home,

And all we win away.

I just can’t get enough!

We slip and slide,

As we fall in love,

And I just can’t seem to

Get enough of you!

Dance With Zabarnyi

There are times when a player’s name is just too good in terms of how it fits into a song for it to be ignored. It is not hard to imagine the delight on the faces of the Bournemouth supporters who realised that their centre-back, Illia Zabarnyi, had a surname that fits perfectly into the tune of Whitney Houston’s song I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me).

It is for that reason that the Cherries faithful could be heard singing the following when he played for them:

Ohh, I wanna dance with Zabarnyi!

I wanna feel the heat with Zabarnyi!

Yeah, I wanna dance with Zabarnyi!

With Zabarnyi who loves me!

Bournemouth’s the Team to Follow

More than anything else, Bournemouth fans like to show their love and appreciation for the team that has given them so much joy over the years. That is what is expressed when they chant:

Follow, follow, follow.

Bournemouth’s the team to follow.

Home and away,

To see the Reds play,

Bournemouth’s the team to follow.

A Dorset Ambulance

Bournemouth’s location on the south coast is something that the supporters are very proud of. It is located in the ceremonial county of Dorset, which is why the fans can sometimes be heard chanting the following, which is an adaptation of the old song about a St. John’s ambulance:

You’re going home in a Dorset ambulance!

(Repeat)

Iraola

Whilst Eddie Howe will always hold a special place in the hearts of most Bournemouth fans thanks to the manner in which he took them from lower league also-rans to Premier League regulars, when a manager comes in and gets the Cherries punching above their weight, that is something that supporters will show their appreciation for. It is precisely what Spanish coach Andoni Iraola managed to do, which resulted in fans singing the following:

1, 2, 3, 4

Iraola!

Ooh!

Iraola!

He drinks Estrella,

He eats paella,

He hates the Scummers!

Red & Black Army

Bournemouth play in a kit that is made up of red and black stripes, which leads to them often being referred to as the ‘red and black army’ by supporters. Here are the words of the chant that allows the fans to express their love of the team:

Allez, allez, allez,

Oh!

(Allez, allez, allez,

Oh!)

AFCB,

Red and black army!

The Dom Solanke Song

Bournemouth spent £20 million signing Dominic Solanke from Liverpool, later earning around £55 million when they sold him to Tottenham Hotspur. The supporters sang about him when he played in the club colours, then quickly changed the tune when he ended up moving to North London. Even so, the tune will get an outing every now and then if the fans are in the right kind of mood, if for no other reason than the fact that it produces a good atmosphere. It goes like this:

Dom Solanke,

He used to be Scouse.

Now he’s got a seaside house.

£20 million down the drain.

Dom Solanke,

He scores again!

Semenyo

Another song that helps to improve the atmosphere is one about Antoine Semenyo, sung to the tune of Gold by Spandau Ballet. That is a song that has long been prime for football supporters to get behind, with Bournemouth fans singing the following to the tune:

Always believe in

Semenyo, oh!

Always believe in your soul,

You’ve got the power to know,

You’re indestructible!

Always believe in

Semenyo, oh!

(Repeat)

The Red Flag

Bournemouth fans love to show their appreciation for the team as a whole, which is where this one comes in. It is a ditty that has done the rounds for many years and the lyrics are as follows:

Flying high up in the sky,

We’ll keep the red flag flying high.

Dean Court to Wembley,

We’ll keep the red flag flying high,

Flying high up in the sky!

Bournemouth!

A simple thing in all senses, one of the chants that virtually everybody watching a Cherries match can get involved in goes like this:

Wooah

Bournemouth!

The Bournemouth Blitz

Sometimes, songs are sung by supporters for the simple reason that they just work. Maybe it’s because the lyrics are funny. Perhaps it’s down to the syllables fitting into the song perfectly. Whatever the reason, they click with fans and they become an enjoyable thing to make for a good atmosphere.

That is where the The Bournemouth Blitz fits in, being a shortened version of The Sweet’s song The Ballroom Blitz. It isn’t the longest tune ever, but it’s fair to say that it does a job. Here is the bit that the supporters enjoy getting involved with when the club is looking to put together an attacking move:

And the man at the back said:

“Everyone attack!”

And it turned into a Bournemouth blitz.