"A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" is an American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

song written by

Steve Goodman Steven Benjamin Goodman (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote the song "City of New Orleans", which was recorded by Arlo Guthrie and many others including John Denver, ...

in 1981 and first performed by him on a WGN radio show that year. The song tells the story of a

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

fan looking back at decades of supporting the struggling

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team. Goodman wrote the song in the spring of 1981, just before that year's Major League Baseball strike interrupted the season. Goodman, a native of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, incorporated a number of specific references to the city, the Cubs, and their baseball stadium,

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

. At the time of the song's release, the Cubs had not been to a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

since

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

and had not won one since 1908. By 1981, the team was under new ownership and was trying to shed its image as a hapless team. The song's lyrics seem to make fun of the Cubs, referring to the team as "the doormat of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

", and such references strained the relationship between Goodman and the team's executives. Goodman later composed " Go, Cubs, Go", which became the team's victory song. That song has been described as overly sentimental, and Goodman was said to have written it that way to subtly poke fun at the team's criticism of "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request". Goodman died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

in 1984, and some of his ashes were surreptitiously scattered at Wrigley Field, consistent with the lyrics of "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request".

Background

In the summer of 1980,

William Wrigley III William A. Wrigley III (January 21, 1933 – March 8, 1999), known as William Wrigley, was president of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, founded by his grandfather William Wrigley Jr., from 1961 until his death from pneumonia in March 1999. His ...

sold the Chicago Cubs baseball team to the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. The Cubs had a longstanding reputation as the " Lovable Losers", as they had not won a

since 1908 and had not played in one since

. In the fall of 1981, Dallas Green was hired as the team's

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

, and Green installed a number of personnel from his former organization, the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Shortly after he joined the team, he told the press that the Cubs needed more help than he had realized, calling the team "a disaster area". Green was particularly critical of the negative attitudes of employees across the organization. Singer-songwriter and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

native Steve Goodman was born in 1948 and grew up attending Cubs baseball games. His great uncle, Harry Romanoff, worked for Chicago newspapers and knew an usher at the

ticket gate, so Goodman could get into the stadium for free. Goodman was a student at

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts i ...

in the late 1960s when he began performing at Chicago music venues. Goodman's songwriting credits included "

City of New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his father, Woody Guthrie. Gut ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

, and

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

. He had wanted to compose a song about baseball for many years, and he used a baseball analogy to explain his lack of progress on that front to his biographer, Clay Eals. "I get about three-quarters of the way through it, and then I

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

somebody and take myself out," Goodman told Eals. Goodman moved from Chicago to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with his wife and two daughters about a year before writing "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request".

Composition and lyrics

The

1981 Major League Baseball strike The 1981 Major League Baseball strike was the first work stoppage in Major League Baseball since the 1972 Major League Baseball strike that resulted in regular season games being cancelled. Overall, it was the fourth work stoppage since 1972, bu ...

interrupted that season beginning in June, and Goodman was asked whether he had written the song because of the strike. "Actually I wrote it the night of March 13th in a hotel in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

," Goodman said. He explained that he was about to put on a concert in Chicago and he wanted concertgoers—especially his family and friends—to have a new song to enjoy. He said he began thinking about the looming start of the baseball season and the historic lack of success of his Cubs teams. The song presents a cynical but affectionate look at the Cubs from the perspective of a fan who has been through many losing seasons with the team. The fan, a dying old man, is telling his friends of his wishes to have his coffin carried around Wrigley Field before having his ashes thrown into a bonfire on the field. The song refers to the Cubs as "the doormat of the National League". Goodman had been treated for

since 1969, but despite having a serious illness when he wrote the song, Goodman said "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" was not autobiographical, according to his manager, Al Bunetta. "I always did believe it was about Stevie, but he said no. He never equated it to himself. He never looked at himself as dying," Bunetta explained. "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" contains several references to the city of Chicago and to the Chicago Cubs. The song's opening lines (''By the shores of old

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

/ Where the hawk wind blows so cold'') refer to a colloquial term for the wind in Chicago. The man in the song wants his ashes to blow over the Wrigley Field wall and ultimately come to rest on Waveland Avenue, the street that runs behind the ballpark's left field bleachers. He mentions bidding the

bleacher bums ''Bleacher Bums'' is a 1977 play written collaboratively by members of Chicago's Organic Theater Company, from an idea by actor Joe Mantegna. Its original Chicago production was directed by Stuart Gordon. A 1979 performance of the play was tape ...

adieu. Much of the song consists of

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

, but the chorus is sung. A reference in the chorus to "their ivy-covered burial ground" refers to Wrigley Field, which has unique outfield walls covered with ivy planted in 1937.

Some well-known Cubs personalities are mentioned by name in the song.

Keith Moreland Bobby Keith Moreland (born May 2, 1954), nicknamed "Zonk", is a former outfielder, catcher and infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and San Diego Padres. In 1989, the final year of his career, ...

(''Have Keith Moreland drop a routine fly'') was a 1980s Cubs player with good hitting ability but poor fielding.

Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...

(''Hey Ernie, let's play two'') was twice voted the

National League Most Valuable Player The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

and was later inducted into the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

. He would often say "Let's play two!" to indicate his love for baseball. The song also mentions

Jack Brickhouse John Beasley Brickhouse (January 24, 1916 – August 6, 1998) was an American sportscaster. Known primarily for his play-by-play coverage of Chicago Cubs games on WGN-TV from 1948 to 1981, he received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Ha ...

, a sportscaster who covered Cubs games from the 1940s to 1981.

Release and reception

Accompanied by

Jethro Burns Jethro is a male given name meaning "overflow". It is derived from the Hebrew word ''Yithrô''. People named Jethro * Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns (1920–1989), mandolin player in satirical country music duo Homer and Jethro * Jethro Franklin ( ...

on banjo, Goodman performed "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" on a 1981 WGN radio show hosted by

Roy Leonard Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

. He had performed the song the night before at the Park West theater. Goodman released the song on his own record label, known as Red Pajamas Records, as Elektra/Asylum Records had dropped him after the release of the 1980 album ''Hot Spot''. The song was included on Goodman's 1984 album ''Affordable Art''. Bonnie Stiernberg, music editor of '' Paste'' magazine, said that the song is "everything one could possibly want a song about the Cubs to be—devastating, self-deprecating, nostalgic, full of that Midwestern wryness that you need to make it through harsh winters and decades of losing seasons." She wrote that it was "easy to see why they don’t play it at Wrigley (referring to the Cubs as “the doormat of the National League” and asking “do they still play the blues in Chicago when baseball season rolls around/when the snow melts away, do the Cubbies still play in their ivy-covered burial ground?” doesn’t exactly get a crowd hyped)". Stiernberg called the song "a strong piece of evidence should one choose to argue that the depressing songs about the Cubs are the best songs about the Cubs." ''Chicago Tribune'' columnist Bill Jauss wrote that Goodman was not intending to criticize the Cubs with his song. "He's merely pouring out the emotions of one who has pulled for the team from the days of Chiti to 'Bull' Durham," Jauss wrote, referring to 1950s

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

Harry Chiti Harry Dominic Chiti Jr. (pronounced ) (November 16, 1932 – January 31, 2002) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball. He appeared in 502 games over all or parts of ten seasons between and for the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Athletic ...

and 1980s

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Leon Durham Leon "Bull" Durham (born July 31, 1957) is an American former first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 10 seasons. Durham was a longtime minor league hitting coach, and most recently served as the assistant hitting coac ...

. Cubs executives disagreed.

WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to the company's sole radio property, talk ra ...

program director Dan Fabian said that the song "made eneral manager DallasGreen nuts. He said we didn't need that kind of negativity anymore. He hated the line about 'doormat of the National League.' He said that Steve Goodman is no fan of the Cubs." Goodman was not allowed to perform the song at Wrigley Field. Mark Caro of the ''Chicago Tribune'' wrote that "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" is a "blackly comic folk ballad

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

details fans' hopes being perpetually crushed". Columnist

Bob Greene Robert Bernard Greene Jr. (born March 10, 1947) is an American journalist and author. He worked for 24 years for the ''Chicago Tribune'' newspaper, where he was a columnist. Greene has written books on subjects including Michael Jordan, Alice C ...

referred to the song as a "warm, funny, bittersweet song". Yardena Arar of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

said that "in the mock-serious lament of Goodman's moribund hero, many will recognize their own past." Scott Benarde of the ''

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding B ...

'' wrote that the song was "just plain upbeat and funny". In 2018, the song was number one on an ''

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...

'' list of the nine best baseball songs ever recorded.

Legacy

In 1984, the Cubs finally made the playoffs and Goodman was asked to sing the national anthem at a playoff game, but he died of leukemia days before his scheduled appearance. Consistent with the lyrics of "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" ("Let my ashes blow in a beautiful snow ... / And I will come to my final resting place, out on Waveland Avenue."), Goodman's friends sneaked into Wrigley Field and deposited some of his ashes there. The rest were scattered at

Doubleday Field Doubleday Field is a baseball stadium in Cooperstown, New York named for Abner Doubleday and located two village blocks from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The grounds have been used for baseball since 1920, on what was Elihu Ph ...

near the

. Goodman wrote another song for the Cubs, called "Go, Cubs, Go", soon after the release of "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request". The new tune caught on as the opening song for WGN radio broadcasts of Cubs games. In 2007, it became the song played at the ballpark after a Cubs win. The song is often described as overly sentimental or saccharine, and Goodman is said to have written it that way as a subtle jab at Green's criticism of "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request". Rich Bird of ''

The Times of Northwest Indiana ''The Times of Northwest Indiana'' (NWI) is a daily newspaper headquartered in Munster, Indiana. It is the second-largest newspaper in Indiana, behind only ''The Indianapolis Star''. History The paper was founded on June 18, 1906, as ''The Lake ...

'' suggested that fans would more easily identify with the cynical song: " there was ever a song that put into words and music the heartbreak, longing, and near-laughable anxiety of the long-suffering followers of the Cubs, it's Goodman's song, 'A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request'." Just before opening day in 2008, the season that marked a century since a Cubs World Series title, Dan Pashman discussed the song on the

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

segment called The Best Song in the World Today, and he compared it favorably to "Go, Cubs, Go". Pashman grew up as a

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

fan, but he said he was listening to "Go, Cubs, Go" after a 2003 Cubs win when he realized that he had become a Cubs fan. "But that's not the best song in the world today. Because to really call yourself a Cubs fan, you have to experience some serious pain," Pashman said, explaining how "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" captured the disappointment he felt about two weeks later, when the Cubs narrowly missed out on the 2003 World Series.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request American folk songs 1981 songs 1981 singles Songs written by Steve Goodman Songs about Chicago Songs about death Baseball songs and chants Chicago Cubs Works about fandom