Track 2 of the album Every Glass Held Up · 2018
After the Final Whistle, We Stay
“The match is over but the singing isn't. We wanted the sound of a stand refusing to go home.”
classical crossover · anthemic choir · terrace chant · 3:44
Lyrics
The whistle has blown, the scoreboard glows The crowd is spilling out through the gate But a handful of us still linger on Not quite ready to leave the great The lights burn low on the trampled grass The echo of the roar rolls round We sit in the stand and we hum the song That the whole night long had sound Win or lose, we are still here Voices rising, soft and clear After the final whistle, we stay Singing the evening into day Hand in hand, a choir of friends Where the roaring never ends After the final whistle, we stay Whatever the scoreboard had to say We came together, we came to sing We are the part that remains A child asleep on her father's coat A stranger passing round some tea We swap the stories of the game And the people we long to be Win or lose, we are still here Voices rising, soft and clear After the final whistle, we stay Singing the evening into day Hand in hand, a choir of friends Where the roaring never ends After the final whistle, we stay Whatever the scoreboard had to say We came together, we came to sing We are the part that remains The groundsman waves from the touchline far The floodlights start to fade We gather our scarves and we gather our hearts And we sing till the stars are made After the final whistle, we stay Singing the evening into day Hand in hand, a choir of friends Where the roaring never ends After the final whistle, we stay Whatever the scoreboard had to say We came together, we came to sing We are the part that remains We stay We stay