Sunderland Songs and Famous Chants: From Sunderland ’Til I Die to The Sunderland Boot Boys

The history of Sunderland AFC is one that has been filled with disappointments and close calls far more than it has with joy and excitement. Although the Black Cats have won the top-flight title six times at the time of writing, the most recent was in 1936, so it’s fair to say that the club isn’t one that would make the likes of Liverpool or Manchester United supporters quake in their boots. Even the two FA Cup wins were so long ago as to be all but irrelevant, having won it first in 1937 and then again in 1973. The supporters may well be best described as ‘put upon’ in terms of their emotions.

Whether because of this or in spite of it, the club’s fans have long been able to come up with amusing and intelligent chants that have either supported the players or else mocked rival clubs. The biggest rivalry that Sunderland supporters have is with Newcastle United, so it is perhaps unsurprising that the Magpies as well as their former players find themselves the subjects of one or two songs and chants. It is also worth pointing out that Sunderland is very much a working class town, so the fans don’t pull their punches when it comes the industrial language being used.

Here is a look at some of the better-known ditties that are chosen by the fans for use during football matches. It is important to bear in mind that this list is far from exhaustive, so you might well know of another song or two that haven’t made the list and wonder why. Even so, it will give you a solid taste of the kinds of songs and chants that Sunderland fans have engaged in over the years:

Sunderland ’Til I Die

It isn’t exactly outrageous to suggest that a song involving the name of a football club and then the words “’til I die” has been sung by countless different teams’ supporters over the years. Even so, Sunderland fans might well lay the claim to being the ones that are most closely associated, which is reflected in the fact that Amazon named their documentary about the Black Cats Sunderland ’Til I Die for the programme that was released in the December of 2018 and has so far produced three seasons.

The lyrics aren’t exactly the most complicated, but are used to express a love of the team by the supporters and a suggestion that they will continue to support Sunderland up until the moment that they are literally incapable of doing so because they are no longer alive. Here is a look at how the lyrics go:

Sunderland till I die,

I’m Sunderland till I die,

I know I am, I’m sure I am,

I’m Sunderland till I die!

(Repeat)

Up the Football League We Go

Sunderland fans don’t like to admit that they share much in common with Newcastle United supporters, whilst the same is also true in reverse. Speak to a Mackem and ask if they’re from Newcastle, or chat with a Geordie and suggest that they’re from Sunderland, and you will soon learn exactly how much enmity there is between the two sets of supporters. Having said that, there is little question that the two sets of people have countless links, not the least of which is the fact that they’re all from the north-east of England and have that shared sense of ‘other’ from the rest of the country.

One of the other things that they share is the basis for the song that we’re calling Up the Football League We Go. Here are the lyrics, which get tweaked depending on whether they’ve reached the Premier League or they’re still in search of a place in the top-flight:

Ee ai ee ai ee ai oh,

Up the Football League we go!

When we get promotion,

This is what we sing:

We are Sunderland!

We are Sunderland!

(Insert manager’s name) is our king!

(Repeat)

Oh Baby

Sunderland have had more than a few players who have lined up for the club in the past and have won over the supporters, earning themselves a song sung by those who head to the Stadium of Light on a regular basis. The good news is that some songs are such that the name of the player can easily be substituted in, so the fans don’t need to work hard at changing the lyrics. That is how it is with the Oh Baby song, with lyrics when they sang the song for Ross Stewart that went like this:

Oh baby,

Do you know what that’s worth?

Ross Stewart is the best on earth!

The Loch Ness Drogba is just what we need,

He’ll take Sunderland to the Premier League.

As you might have worked out, the lyrics are sung to the tune of Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven is a Place on Earth.

How Do We Get There?

Sunderland fans, as is often the case with people based in the north, have a good sense of humour. This is reflected in this song, which is all about their journey back to the top-flight. It goes like this:

How do we get there?

I don’t know.

How do we get there?

I don’t care.

All I know is Sunderland’s on their way.

We’re on our way!

We’re on our way!

To the Premier, we’re on our way!

(Repeat)

Shearer is a Wanker

The enmity between Sunderland supporters and Newcastle United might well best be summed up in the fact that supporters still sing songs about Alan Shearer, years after the forward retired from the game. As you might imagine, these songs aren’t filled with polite and flowery lyrics about what a nice chap he is, so this is probably one that’s best not taught to any kids.

If you want to know how they feel about the former England striker, however, these are the lyrics:

Shearer is a wanker,

He wears a wanker’s hat.

He plays for Scum United,

He is a fucking twat.

He fucks up on the left wing,

He fucks up on the right,

And when he plays for England,

He’s always fucking shite.

(Repeat)

Banks of Wearside

Sunderland fans are proud of where they’re from, as are supporters from most of the areas in the north of the country. As a result, they have come up with a song that is all about the location that the Stadium of Light is based, which goes like this:

From the banks of the river Wear,

To the shores of Sicily,

We’re gonna fight, fight, fight for Sunderland,

To win the football league!

To hell with Man United,

To hell with Liverpool,

We’re gonna fight, fight, fight for Sunderland,

To win the football league!

(Repeat)

Wise Men Say

Elvis Presley sang a song called Can’t Help Falling in Love, from which Sunderland supporters take some of the lyrics in order to show their adoration of the team. It follows the same tune as the song made famous by the King, until it goes off on its own direction towards the end.

If you know the Elvis song, which was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George David Weiss and has been sung by countless other artists since, then you will know how this one goes, barring the obvious alteration to the lyrics:

Wise men say,

“Only fools rush in,”

But I can’t help

Falling in love with you.

Sunderland!

(Clap, Clap Clap)

Sunderland!

(Clap, Clap Clap)

Sunderland!

(Clap, Clap Clap)

(Repeat)

Keep the Red Flag Flying

One of the other ways in which Sunderland and Newcastle United supporters are closer than they think comes in the form of their home kits. Whilst Newcastle are known as the Magpies on account of the fact that they play in black and white and Sunderland play in red and white, the kits see stripes running down the length of the body on both sets of outfits.

Sunderland supporters sing a song about the colour that they play in, which goes like this:

Flying high up in the sky,

We’ll keep the red flag flying high,

Wherever we go,

Be sure to know,

We’ll keep the red flag flying high!

The Sunderland Bootboys

One of the songs that has grown in popularity over recent years is that of The Sunderland Bootboys. It is one of the songs that looks to show love for the club as well as an acknowledgement of the history of the Black Cats, going like this:

We are the Sunderland,

The Sunderland Bootboys.

We are mental,

We are mad,

We’re the loudest football supporters

The world has ever had.

(Repeat)