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The Desert Island All-Time Top 5… Songs written for the World Cup

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The World Cup, like much of soccer, is an extremely traditional thing. The Cup comes around every four years, a timeless, rhythmic competition that causes the world to grind to a halt with all the metered regularity of a school bell. But it’s not as if the Cup suddenly appears, unannounced, every fourth June. The cycle itself is marked with a number of traditions: the Euros, qualifiers, the Hex, strange stories about stadium construction, the Confederations Cup, 30-man rosters, 23-man rosters, stories about whether or not teams will partaking in the sexual relations, friendlies, even stranger stories from the French National Team, allegations of FIFA corruption and the most joyful, amazing tradition of them all – the World Cup songs. The World Cup songs, official and unofficial, are probably the truest representation of the fans on the world stage. The songs are written by supporters, for supporters; paeans to a nation’s very particular character, ability, resolve and obviously impending championship. They’re one of the few truly innocent, simple and commendable aspects of world sport. And so, without further Adu – er, ado – we present…

The Desert Island All-Time Top 5… Songs Written for the World Cup

DON’T TREAD – Clint Dempsey feat. XO and Big Hawk

STYLIZED ALL-CAPS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. DON’T TREAD ON ME

I literally just remembered this was written for a World Cup so this is completely extemporaneous. But Clint Dempsey’s rap feature with XO and the late Big Hawk (RIP) is the musical embodiment of the brashness and swagger that makes Captain Deuce the forward he is. The song was released before the 2006 World Cup, when Deuce had just burst on the American soccer scene. Dempsey was the only American to score in that debacle of a World Cup. 8 years later, number 8 will be more vital than ever, the leader and most prolific goal-scorer on this national team. This song, among other things, shows Deuce is up for the challenge. DON’T TREAD ON THIS.

Wavin’ Flag – K’naan

SB Nation has already made this case pretty well.  I won’t add much to that, except to say that this is one of the few songs that has ever been able to capture just what the World Cup and sport as a whole can mean to a people. The World Cup in South Africa was special for so many reasons, and with all of the issues present in the game today – racism, corruption, match-fixing, etc. – it’s important that we don’t forget that.

Mundial 82 – Placido Domingo

The best soccer songs are those with a sense of occasion and the lyrics to “Mundial 82” provide just that. No other soccer song has described the feeling the World Cup brings every four years. The last verse roughly translates to:

“At last, everything is silent/ And left are the great teams/ The love of a thousand screams are in the wind/ With a view to their favorites/ Everyone standing hears the hymns/ Those tense faces of glory/ Nervously chosen/ They are dreaming of victory.”

The grandiose vocal performance of Spanish tenor Placido Domingo adds to the sense of occasion that the World Cup deserves. “Mundial 82” isn’t just a World Cup song, it’s a World Cup anthem.

World In Motion – New Order

British pop music was in an odd scene in 1990. New wave and synth pop had left it’s mark, and the Britpop craze wouldn’t hit for a few more years. The British musical landscape was dominated by indie rock dance music coming out of Manchester. The house music influenced genre known as “Madchester” had rubbed off on New Order, a band who had been a part of the Manchester scene since the late seventies, and the biggest band in England at the time.

The song, originally to be called “E for England,” is a reflection of the Madchester sound. Made up of house keys, drum machines and lyrics chock-full of drug references, the song became New Order’s only number one hit on the UK Singles Chart.

The song goes from great World Cup song to Greatest World Cup song around the 2:50 mark when England winger John Barnes delivers the greatest rap ever rapped by an Englishman.

“World in Motion” is a reflection of England in 1990 and served as the soundtrack to England’s run the the semifinals in Italy. They’ve been looking to trying to capture  same magic ever since.

Hot Hot Hot – Arrow

“Hot Hot Hot” is the perfectly appropriated World Cup song. The calypso hit by Arrow was used as the anthem for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. While football is never explicitly mentioned the chorus of “Olè, Olè Olè Olè” can’t help but invoke images of the beautiful game. Also, I’m pretty sure the lyrics “My mind’s on fire, my soul’s on fire, feeling hot hot hot,” crossed my mind when Donavan scored the 90th minute winner against Algeria. The best thing about “Hot Hot Hot” is that Arrow is from Montserrat. Montserrat is a small island in the Caribbean, and their national football team is a member of the Caribbean Football Union, which is a member of CONCACAF. The Montserrat national team was ranked last in the FIFA rankings. On the day of the 2002 World Cup final, they played the second lowest ranked team, Bhutan, in a friendly. They lost 4-0. In 2013, the team reached 174 in the FIFA rankings. They still play “Hot Hot Hot” at every home match. Just another reason why I wake up every morning and thank God I was born in CONCACAF.

“Don’t Tread” and “Wavin’ Flag” by Sean Landry. “Mundial 82,” “World in Motion” and “Hot Hot Hot” by Mitchell Kahalley. Introduction by Sean Landry