My question is, why did this song become popular to sing at English rugby games?
OK, two things:
First, months ago ago, I was looking for a bikini for my 65 year old gal, a true beauty, the love of my life for forty years and I clicked on a bikini ad.
Now any dailymail article is surrounded by constantly changing pics of gals in bikinis so it makes just reading an article difficult.
Second, somewhere between the bikini pics there was this:
“Written by a black slave in the American South during the nineteenth century, the song was first belted out by supporters when two black wingers - Martin Offiah and Chris Oti - became sporting heroes on the pitch at the end of the 1980s. “
I can say since it was the fans of two Black rugby players on THEIR team that it was meant as an appreciation for their efforts and talents and not derogatory in any way.
As noted somewhere else in the article between the bikini ads the crowd would only sing maybe the first stanza or two - in the context of the game I view it only as a welcoming sign of appreciation.
At 65 I simply view it as a vision I hope to see when I die, please swing low and take me home on a chariot.
The actual odds on that are probably `50-50 but I’m trying to improve those odds. ;-)