I wrote the following post in a thread about football chants. I just wanted to know if there are any others I may have missed out. (Please bear in mind it was written for a non French audience, so please don't take the poking fun as anything personal you guys).
1) "Qui ne saute pas", as almost all French chants, comes from the Italian "Chi non saltare". I think Toulouse was the first to adapt it in France, then Marseille and every French club ("Qui ne saute pas n'est pas Rennais, hey !") but the song is now specifically known as OL chant. 2) This chant is very recent, it has been created a few months ago by OL fans and is used only for Juninho. 3) Seven Nation Army is born in Scotland among Hearts fans. AS Roma fans brought it with them in Italy where it was adopted by the Squaddra during the World Cup; then Franck Ribéry brought it to the Marseille locker room; covered by the fans; and next by other fans in France in little clubs (Sochaux, Nancy...). The rest is OK, but you forgot one... the ONLY pure soccer chant created in France: "AUX ARMES !" http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/aux+armes/video/xi7gn_aux-armes-omrennes-2006_sport Aux armes, aux armes (bis) (Take up arms) Nous sommes les Marseillais (bis) (We are the Marseille people) Et nous allons gagner (bis) (And we're gonna win) Allez l'omeuh, allez l'omeuh (bis) (Up OM, with provençal accent) La la la la la la... The chant has been covered by other fans ("Nous sommes les Bordelais...") and NT fans ("Nous sommes les Français, allez les Bleus"). Marseille created others chants, less known. There is: "Quand le virage se met à chanter, c'est tout le stade qui va s'enflammer Il faut chanter, il faut chanter et notre équipe va gagner allez allez..." (When the road is starting to sing all the stadium will catch fire We must sing, we must sing And our team will win) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1g0i4_livevelodrome_sport (2mn13) "Allez allez marseillais Il faut se mettre à chanter Notre équipe va gagner Allez Marseillais" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVxg50ZvwDA French Ligue 1 team nicknames Olympique Lyonnais - OL, Les gones Olympique Marseille - OM, Les Phocéens St Etienne (ASSE) - Les verts (The Greens) Lille (LOSC) - Les Dogues (The Hounds) Toulouse FC - Les violets (The Violets) RC Lens - Les Sang er Or (The Blood and Golds) Nancy - les Chardons (Thistles) Bordeaux - les Girondins Lorient - les Merlus (Hakes) Nice - les Aiglons (Eaglets) Caen - les Malherbistes (Stade Malherbe) Sochaux - les Lionceaux (Lion cubs) Metz - les Graoullys (Graoully is a mythologic, dragon-type, local beast) Nantes - les Canaris (canaries) Niort - les Chamois Sedan - les Sangliers (Wild boars) Libourne - les Pingouins (Penguins) There are some pejorative nicknames given by the adversaries: Monaco - les défiscalisés (tax exempted) Auxerre - les paysans (peasants) Le Mans - les rillettes (potted meat) And the most insulting: Strasbourg: l'OM de l'Est Rennes: le PSG de l'Ouest
your translation of 'virage" is a faulty, it doesn't mean "road" but the ends, and shows the importance of the cheapseat crowd (like in all sports) in lyon we have thsi on a similar theme. Allez le virage nord, Fait entendre ta voix, Allez le virage nord, Le douzième homme c'est toi. i know qui ne saute pas was used elsewhere before. it has become a trademark at lyon, but actually started dying out a couple of years ago because it was too "footix". paradoxically that's what saved it though, the BG caught on that that was the one and only sure-fire way to get the tribunes to make noise! the oldest trademark chant at gerland afaik is nous sommes les lyonnais, et nous allons tous chanter, pour notre équipe aimée, olympique lyonnais. btw, there's no clapping in qui ne saute pas; the end is: lyonnais (run together into two syllables) - rest - ohé! the juninho chant you mention is at least a year old, maybe two. before that it was: juninho! clap-clap-clap! juninho! clap-clap-clap! we have a couple of other player-specific chants: - criscriscriscriscriscriscriscris.... as fast as you can say it... it comes out like a hiss. - to the tune used for on est champion, on est champion... sidney govou, sidney govou, sidney, sidney, sidney, sidney govou! the only other player who commonly gets specific recognition is coupet but it's nothing in the way of a chant. tiago use to get his name chanted in a special way... i'll bet he doesn't get that at the alpi!
Lens has adapted his own version of La Marseillaise: Allons enfants de la patrie, Le jour de gloire est arrivé Contre nous de la tyrannie L'étandard "Sang et Or" est levé ! (bis) Entendez-vous les supporters Chanter "Allez les Sang et Or" Vous êtes...vous êtes les plus forts ! Allez les Sang et Or ! Vous êtes les plus forts ! Allez ! Allez ! Les Sang et Or, Vous êtes les plus forts ! Allez Lens ! and every half-time they sing Pierre Bachelet's "les Corons" as tribute for the singer and the coal miners of the North: Au Nord c'était les Corons la terre c'était le charbon le ciel c'était l'horizon les hommes, les mineurs de fond http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq2xs_lensparmecorons_sport
i like it when lens fans sing -Qu'est-ce que vous chantez ? -Et nous chantons Lens Allez ! -Qu'est-ce que vous chantez ? -Et nous chantons Lens Allez ! -Qu'est-ce que vous chantez ? -Et nous chantons Lens Allez ! -Qu'est-ce que vous chantez ? -Et nous chantons Lens Allez ! La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la which means something like. what are you singing? we sing come on lens...la la la la la... http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xnz6n_lensnantes-quest-ceque-vous-chantez
Yes that one is very good. My buddy took this one and adapted for use in at Toronto games. Ours goes : Qu'est-ce que vous chantez? Nous chantons les rouges allez! It's become probably our most popular chant.
Honestly not much. It will suck when you bus over hundreds of anglophones to Stade Saputo for the Impact friendly and sing in louder french than us UM02.