32 Years Later, Cubs Song is a Hit

In 1981, Chicago-born singer and songwriter Steve Goodman wrote a song he hoped would become the unofficial anthem for his beloved Cubs.

Unfortunately, “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request” was deemed too depressing and for good reason. It was.

And honestly, you can’t fault fans for not latching on to a song that refers to the team as the “doormat of the National League” and includes lyrics like “make six bullpen pitchers carry my coffin”.

So…what to do? You go back to the drawing board.

Not long after the failure of Goodman’s first attempt at writing something for the ballclub, an idea was hatched. Because he was such a fan, WGN tasked Goodman with coming up with a more radio-friendly song and “Go, Cubs, Go” was born.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9XtDyDUjIU]

In 1984, the team began the tradition of playing “Go, Cubs, Go” following wins at Wrigley Field. Sadly, Goodman would lose his fight with cancer days before the Cubs clinched the division title.

Now, 32 years later, Goodman finally has a hit.

Following the Cubs 108-year drought-ending World Series win, the track debuted at number 3 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Additionally, the song currently sits at number 3 on Spotify’s Viral 50. And as if being near the top of the charts wasn’t an indicator as to how popular the song has become, there are a couple other indicators of its popularity.

Friday night, following another sold out performance in Chicago, the cast of “Hamilton” flew the W and sang the song. The next night, Anthony Rizzo, Dexter Fowler and David Ross belted out the anthem alongside Bill Murray on “Saturday Night Live”.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUsaw52gGU8]