10 artists who actually wrote songs about sport
And no, this isn’t clickbait. Just good journalism*
It might seem like every song on the radio is about the same thing, but you’d be surprised to learn that a lot of popular songs are actually about social sport. Yes, turns out most artists in the music industry are avid sports fans who never miss their weekly games!
You might be thinking about some of the obvious ones - *NSYNC’s Bye Bye Bye, Flock of Seagull’s I Ran (So Far Away), even Drake’s Started from the Bottom - nobody could dispute their subject matter. Well lucky for you, my friend, Jaimee and Alice are here to teach you some Fun Facts that will change your life (no, really). So pop on your headphones, grab a snack, and let’s get listening 👇
Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush
Starting off nice and easy, Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) is perhaps the most famous song about marathon running there is. Kate Bush’s classic had a slow but steady rise to fame thanks to season 4 of Stranger Things - not unlike the slow and steady pace needed to complete a marathon.
Bush describes the route of the marathon quite clearly, saying she is “running up the road, running up that hill, running up that building”, and notes the “thunder in our hearts” - a clear reference to the pounding heart one experiences whilst exercising.
She goes on to plead for a “deal with God”, which any runner knows comes at a certain point in a run. You’ve gone too far to turn back, you know you need to push through, and you start trying to make deals with God to make it end.
This girl gets it
C.U.D.I (Can U Dig It) - Cosmo’s Midnight
Australian Electronic duo, Cosmo’s Midnight started in 2012. It’s unclear why they wrote the smash hit C.U.D.I (Can U Dig It) as a tribute to Volleyball, but this track exploded onto the Aussie music scene in 2019.
With few but powerful lyrics, the electronic duo suggest “Let’s keep things moving and moving, aw yeah, can you dig it? Can you dig it? (oh!)”
For those of you who don’t know “digging” is a type of pass, usually done after someone has spiked or served the ball. It’s very impressive.
“Can you dig it with me” is sung approximately 14 times throughout the song, so it is clear the passion for Volleyball training is at the forefront of the duo’s minds.
Keep Moving - Jungle
Not only does the song have a great pump up beat to it, the lyrics also give you a great story. The song is clearly written to encourage people to get back into team sport when moving somewhere new.
Note the lyrics “In a new house, in a new place, if you change, keep moving, keep moving” - an obvious reference to community sport in the new city you’ve moved to.
Lines referencing strength and determination in sport, include “Thanks for making me stronger (keep moving)” and “Don’t think about it, I’ll be running with you.”
Ending the song with several encouraging lines; “you gotta move it, keep moving” show just how much Jungle are here for social team sport.
Fun fact: This is actually Jaimee-Ann’s favourite song about sport!
good 4 U - Olivia Rodrigo
It’s well known that most of Ms Rodrigo’s debut album was about her breakup with co-star Joshua Bassett, however avid listeners won’t be surprised to learn that good 4 U is actually about her mixed netball injury.
One of the opening lines (“You found a new girl and it only took a couple weeks”) clearly references how quickly the team found another female player to replace her after she left the team. But why did she leave the team? The answer comes swiftly in the chorus: “Good for you, you look happy and healthy - not me”. Evidently an injury is to blame for her leaving the team. She also says “You’re doing great out there without me”, indicating that the team is going quite well during the rest of the season, and “God I wish that I could do that” showcases how much she loves the game and misses being out on the court.
The frustration builds to a boiling point at “You will never have to hurt the way you know that I do”, further suggesting the injury is severe in nature and it will be some time before Rodrigo can return to the mixed netball court.
It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over - Lenny Kravitz
What a tune! Lenny Kravitz (some of you may only know him as Zoë Kravitz's father, or Cinna from the Hunger Games) absolutely brings the vibe for this song all about smashing that Grand Final. Don’t believe us? Well, It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over contains many lyrics that I think you’ll find pertain to that Grand Final camaraderie we all feel.
Starting off the song “Here we are, still together, we are one” - some people think that’s about a relationship, but we beg to differ - it’s all about the team.
He moves on to sing “playing games with love” (the team plays with love and passion for the game).
“So many years we’ve tried” (to win the season), “to keep our love alive” (love for the game), “but baby, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over” (words to live by when it comes to the grand final, especially when your team is losing.)
I think we’ve made our case.
Burnin’ Up - Jonas Brothers
Everyone’s favourite sporting trio, the Jonas Brothers, use this epic track to discuss the emotional impact of receiving some playful trash talk from their opponent at a Thursday men’s futsal comp.
Starting off strong, Joe says he’s “hot” from running around, but the opponent is “cold”, or speaking coldly, towards him. In fact, the teasing has got Joe riled up and “on his toes” - he’s ready to get on the court and play a competitive game. Joe later says he “fell so fast”, this injury is not the first referenced on this list, and I’m sure won’t be the last.
Nick shows how the taunts from the opposition stick with him when he says “walk in the room, all I can see is you (oh) staring me down”. The opponent has really got in his head, and Nick will need to do some winding down after the game to cool off and divest himself of the negative energy from the game.
Pony - Ginuwine
Dressage, obviously.
Or, as I like to call it, “making horses move like not-horses”
Montero (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas x
I must admit, I never understood the controversy surrounding this song. It’s such a bop, and it’s great representation for the substitutes who get called to fill-in at the last minute.
Right off the bat we hear that “you hit me with a call” to fill in for a game, and given Lil Nas X hasn’t “been out in a while anyway”, he agrees to play the game. The chorus (“Call me when you want, call me when you need”) shows how readily he agrees to play as a fill-in for this team. He expresses a wish for more notice (“Call me in the morning”) but late notice appears to be the standard - as many substitutes will attest.
“Call me by your name” indicates how he will sign in under someone else’s name at the venue to avoid having to register an additional player. This is absolutely not a practice we at Just Play approve of or endorse, and we' highly recommend registering all fill-in players.
Smack That - Akon
Now bear with me. This one may have escaped your notice if you’re only looking for songs about basketball, netball, or the more general sporting expereince. However if you’re looking for a song about European Handball, you simply can’t go past Akon’s seminal hit Smack That.
With this context in mind, the lyrics are quite self-explanatory. “Smack that all, on the floor” (handball players often dribble the ball, or aim the ball at the ground when shooting for goal), “Smack that, give me some more” (the aim of the game is to score more goals than your opponent), “Smack that, til you get sore” (the sport is quite physically demanding, and Akon encourages the player to put in their all, which can result in sore muscles from a good workout).
Fun fact: this is Alice’s favourite song about sport!
Believe - Cher
This might be one of the more controversial ones we’ve spoken about, but we firmly believe Believe is a song about Cher’s tumultuous tennis journey with Mixed Doubles partner, Sonny. The song is quite a journey.
As doubles partners they were only ever scoring ‘love’ (the tennis word for 0), therefore referring to ‘love’ as their affectionate nickname for the great game of tennis.
It was really hard for Cher when Sonny decided to quit the game and go into music instead, as we hear with the lyrics “It’s so sad that you’re leaving, it takes time to believe it” and continues on with “Do you believe in life after love?” (tennis)
So begins her journey, finding the strength to stand in her own power and be strong enough to enter a Women’s Singles tournament. We hear this with the initial lyrics “I can feel something inside me say, I really don’t think you’re strong enough, no.”
However, turns a corner with “Cause I’ve had time to think it through, and maybe I’m too good for you, oh” and “Well, I know that I’ll get through this, ‘Cause I know that I am strong, And I don’t need you anymore”.
Good for you Cher, what a tennis icon.
*Okay you caught us, this whole article is satire.
