| The Wheel Barrow |
| There has been speculation about what is acknowledged to be the greatest terrace song of the 20th century.It is a song that has inspired thousands even in the darkest Murphy days of despair, a song that as moved grown men to tears and even brought a lump to Derek Pavis wallet (allegedly).So powerful is the magic emanating from the brilliantly crafted words of the song that it was even mentioned by John Motson during a live commentry at White hart lane. THE DATE: Tuesday April 17th 1990. LOCATION: Gay meadow, Shewsbury. It was somewhat chilly and very rainy night in Shopshire. Notts, despite having won their previous four games, were trailing to two Dean Spink goals and looked out of it with less than ten minutes left. The Shrewsbury Supporters were happy and singing.The accent in that part of the world is a strange one, Shewsbury being situated part way between Wolverhampton and Wales.The main song they were singing was to the tune " on top of old smokey" but the words-because of that local accent were difficult to pick out. However, they shouted like ........" I had a wheel barrow,the wheel fell off" They can't have been those words surely.What did a stupid song like that have to do with Football? Anyway a small group of cold,wet pi**ed off Notts fans began immitating this singing, partly taking the p*** out of the " country bumpkin" accent, and partly in frustration at Notts apparent surrender to a very oridnary mid table Shewsbury side. This quickly spread across the away terracing, and before long there were 300 or more otherwise perfectly sane supporters singing a song about a wheel barrow losing its wheel !! What happened next has become an event those who were present will be boring their Grandchildren with years to come ....... With "The wheelbarrow Song" ringing around the visitors end of Gay Meadow, a Notts side which has been going through the motions for 80-odd minutes suddenly sprang into life. Everything clicked into gear, and Notts were transformed. Notts hit 2 goals in 3 minutes. The first from Tommy Johnson on 85, the second from Kevin Bartlett on 88. The comeback was complete. Now..... this may have been due to a verbal explosion from the bench, as Neil Warnock would've been just as unhappy at the performance as the rest of us, or it may have been the verbal explosion that came from the terraces. Either way, the new-born "wheelbarrow Song" took the credit. Notts snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat, entended their unbeaten run to 6 matches and went on to remain unbeaten for a further 9 games, culminating in the 2-0 victory over Tranmere in the club's historic first Wembley appearance. The Wheelbarrow Song accompanied them all the way, and on into the following season, with another trip to Wembley and another glorious victory..... 25,000 people singing it beneathh the twin towers. The Wheelbarrow Song is largely irrelevent now. The playing squad has totally changed. The dressing room spirit built under Neil Warnoch's leadership has been replaced by a new one, driven by different characters. The game itself has changed over the last 10 years, The song will always be associated with the Warnock era.... it's now consigned to history. But hey - what memories. |
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Thanks to "The pie", Nigel Nattress and Jayme Sporton for helping with this page |
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