If you’ve ever stood in the bleachers at Wrigley Field on a sunny Friday afternoon, you know the feeling. The game ends. The W flag goes up. Then, the speakers crackle to life with that bouncy, folk-rock rhythm. Suddenly, 40,000 people are screaming at the top of their lungs about a baseball team. It’s loud. It’s messy. Honestly, it’s a little bit cheesy. But the song Go Cubs Go lyrics represent something much deeper than a simple victory jingle; they are the heartbeat of a neighborhood and a century of longing.
Steve Goodman wrote this track in 1984. Think about that for a second. 1984 was a weird time for the North Siders. They were actually good for once, winning the NL East, and the city was desperate for an anthem that didn't feel like a funeral march. Goodman, a legendary folk singer and a massive Cubs fan, was actually battling leukemia when he penned it. He’d already written the "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request," which was hilarious but admittedly a bit of a downer. The team’s management wanted something upbeat. Something that sounded like a sunny day on Addison Street. Goodman delivered, and even though he passed away just four days before the Cubs clinched the division that year, his voice still echoes through the rafters every time the team wins.
The Story Inside the Song Go Cubs Go Lyrics
The song doesn't try to be high art. It’s basically a love letter. It starts by setting the scene: "Baseball time is here again / You can hear it emphasize the fans." It’s welcoming. It’s inclusive. When you look at the song Go Cubs Go lyrics, the structure is built for a crowd. You’ve got the repetitive "Go Cubs Go" chorus that even a toddler—or someone who’s had three Old Styles—can follow.
But why does it work so well?
Most sports anthems are aggressive. They’re about crushing the opponent or being the "champions of the world." This song is different. It’s about the experience of being a fan. It mentions the "North Side town" and "Wrigley Field." It’s hyper-local. When Goodman sings about how "you can live in any town," he’s acknowledging the massive diaspora of Cubs fans who grew up watching WGN-TV across the country.
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Why the Chorus Sticks in Your Brain
The "Hey Chicago, what do you say?" line is arguably the most famous part of the whole thing. It’s a call and response. It demands participation.
- It creates a sense of immediate community.
- The melody is written in a major key that triggers a dopamine hit.
- It’s short enough to be memorized after one listen.
I’ve seen people who don’t even like baseball get swept up in the emotion of it. It’s infectious. You see, the Cubs were "lovable losers" for so long that the song became a defiant act of optimism. Even during the 100-plus years of the drought, singing those lyrics felt like a promise that things would eventually get better.
A Cultural Shift: From Jingle to Anthem
For a long time, the song actually went away. It wasn't always the post-game staple it is now. In the late 80s and early 90s, the team tinkered with different music. It wasn't until around 2007 that the organization officially brought it back as the definitive "win song."
Since then, it’s become a global phenomenon. When the Cubs finally won the World Series in 2016, millions of people sang it together at the victory parade in Grant Park. It was the largest gathering of people in Western Hemisphere history, and they were all singing Steve Goodman’s words. That’s the power of a simple song. It transitioned from a catchy radio jingle into a sacred hymn for a city that had waited a lifetime for a trophy.
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The lyrics mention "The Cubs are gonna win today." On most days for a century, that was a lie. But fans sang it anyway. That’s the nuance of being a Chicagoan. We deal with the snow, we deal with the traffic, and we deal with the heartbreak of our sports teams. The song is a three-minute break from all that.
Breaking Down the Verses
The second verse is where the real meat is. "They got the power, they got the speed / To be the best in the National League." Back in '84, that was actually true with guys like Ryne Sandberg and Rick Sutcliffe. Today, the names change, but the sentiment remains the same.
Actually, the song is a bit of a time capsule. It reflects an era of baseball before the massive corporate shifts of the 2000s. It feels handmade. It feels like a guy with a guitar sitting on a porch in Lincoln Park. That’s why it resonates more than a manufactured stadium anthem like "Seven Nation Army" or "Thunderstruck." Those are great for getting hyped, but they don't tell a story. Goodman’s lyrics tell the story of a neighborhood.
Common Misconceptions About the Song
A lot of people think the song was commissioned for the 2016 run. Nope. It’s forty years old. Others think it’s played before the game. It’s not. That’s a huge superstition. You only play it when the W is secured. Playing it early is seen as a massive jinx.
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Then there’s the debate about the "Hey Chicago, what do you say?" part. Some fans try to change the words or add their own flair, but the purists stick to the original Goodman recording. The crackly, slightly dated quality of the audio is part of the charm. It shouldn't be remastered. It shouldn't be remixed by a DJ. It needs to sound like 1984.
The Impact on the Cubs Brand
From a business perspective, these lyrics are worth millions. "Go Cubs Go" is printed on t-shirts, mugs, and even baby onesies. It’s a brand identity that other teams envy. The New York Yankees have "New York, New York," but that’s a Sinatra song about the city, not specifically the team. The Cubs have a song that is theirs and theirs alone.
How to Lean Into the Tradition
If you’re heading to Clark and Addison for the first time, don't worry about knowing every single word. Just get the chorus down.
- Wait for the final out. Don't start singing until the umpire makes it official.
- Look for the flag. The white flag with the blue "W" usually goes up on the center-field scoreboard simultaneously with the music starting.
- Join the "Hey Chicago" part. That’s the most important bit.
It’s about the collective release of tension. Baseball is a slow, stressful game. The song is the exhale.
The best way to truly appreciate the song Go Cubs Go lyrics is to understand the man who wrote them. Steve Goodman was a giant of the folk scene who died way too young. He gave Chicago a gift that keeps on giving every time a Cubs pitcher strikes out the side in the ninth. It’s more than music; it’s a shared history of "next year" finally becoming "this year."
To get the full experience, find a high-quality recording of the 1984 original version rather than the modern stadium edits. Pay attention to the acoustic guitar layering—Goodman was a master of the instrument, and his fingerpicking style provides the "train-track" rhythm that makes the song feel like it's constantly moving forward. If you’re a musician, try learning the chords; it’s a simple G-C-D progression, but the way he swings the rhythm is what gives it that specific "Wrigley" soul. Next time you're at the park, stay until the very end, even if it's a blowout, just to see the way the sunlight hits the ivy when that first chord strikes. It’s the closest thing to magic you’ll find in professional sports.