When we received this message from Gerard McGonigle relating to his early memories of his Celtic supporting dad singing a song about Jimmy McGrory, we knew that the Celtic Historian David Potter, also of this parish, would be able to provide some answers.
“I was born in Glasgow and moved to the US in 1953 with my Dad who was also born in Glasgow and a Celtic supporter all his life,” Gerard wrote.”When I was growing up I would hear my Dad and some of his friends sing a song about Jimmy McGrory scoring three goals in three minutes.
“My Dad passed quite a few years ago and I have been trying to get the words to that song.
I remember that the song described each of the three goals. Would you happen to know of this song and the words? I would love to have them.
“Appreciate your help, Sincerely.” Gerard McGonigle
Who better to ask than David Potter? “I seem to recall my father singing to the tune of the revivalist hymn “Tell Me the Old, Old Story,” David replied.”As I said, it went to the tune of the revivalist hymn much sung by the Salvation Army in the 1930s,” David explained. Here are the words…
“Tell me the old, old story,
A hat-trick for McGrory
A victory for the Celtic
And all in double quick time!
Delaney crossed to the centre
And Jimmy finished the job,
Murphy left the defenders dead
And the cross found McGrory’s head!
McGrory scored his hat-trick
When Murphy did the same
McGrory rose like a singing bird
And headed home his third!
All glory to McGrory
The pride of the Garngad!
He’s the hero of the Celtic
And he makes the Rangers sad!
“It went something like that, anyway! I wish I had paid more attention! Another revivalist hymn provided the tune to these words,” David continued.
“Look forever to Jimmy, his flicks, his shots and his headers
Look forever to Jimmy, he will carry you through!
He’ll carry you through the hue
To beat the bar stewards in blue!
Look forever to Jimmy, he will carry you through!”
And there’s more from David Potter, our esteemed Celtic historian: “There was also the poem,”…
“There’s surely no denyin’
Wi oor captain Willie Lyon
We will win the Scottish Cup
Yes, we’ll win the Scottish Cup once again!
In the goal Canadian Joe
Is strong enough to deny the foe
We’ve got Buchan and Jock from Croy
And Johnny Crum is the bhoy!
And on the wing Delaney’s speed
Makes cross straight for Jimmy’s heid.
A Cleland boy, so fast and trueA loyal Celt, through and through.
But wait a bit, don’t go so fast
We’ve left the star turn to the last
There in the pride o a his glory
Goal a minute, James McGrory!
“These may or may not help with Mr McGonigle’s enquiry. There were loads of such songs and poems – most of them sheer doggerel! As indeed with John Thomson. The 1930s were great times for such things. My father always recalled the great community singing at Celtic Park, likening it to a Welsh rugby crowd.
Apparently “Erin’s Green Valleys” used to be quite something!” David stated.
Jimmy McGrory is of course still included in the Celtic songs of the present.
“And they gave us James McGrory and Paul McStay,
They gave us Johnstone, Tully, Murdoch, Auld and Hay,
And most of the football greats,
Have passed through Parkhead’s gates,
All to play football the Glasgow Celtic way.”
Thanks to David Potter for his knowledge and assistance in answering Gerard McGonigle’s question. In his book Celtic How the League was won 49 Times, David describes the climax to the 1935-36 season with Celtic striving to with their first title win since 1926 with the need to win all the games in the run-in an absolute necessity. Here’s how David told the story of what happened…
Celtic did indeed win all their remaining games, some of them with a bit of bother – narrow 3-2 wins at Queen’s Park and Airdrie for example – but others gloriously, none more so than on 14 March when in a game against Motherwell at Parkhead, McGrory scored a hat-trick in less than three minutes!
“Wait a bit, don’t be so fast
We’ve left the star turn to the last
There in the midst o’ a’ his glory
Goal a minute, James McGrory”
A week after that, Celtic got over a difficult hurdle at Dens Park, with Delaney and McGrory taking full advantage of two defensive errors, then Hibs were dispatched 4-1 with McGrory scoring again (incredibly, he was not chosen to play for Scotland against England at Wembley!) and then came the holiday weekend in which Celtic won both their games.
The first one was away at Arbroath and was characterised by a diving header by McGrory amidst a ruck of legs to bullet home, and then at Celtic Park on the Monday, Celtic beat Clyde 2-1 not altogether convincingly, it has to be said, but goals by Frank Murphy and (inevitably) Jimmy McGrory saw them through.
“James Edward McGrory”
The League was effectively won on the Saturday when Ayr United were beaten 6-0 at Celtic Park. Jimmy McGrory scored a hat trick.
“Tell me the old, old story
A hat-trick for McGrory!”
And even missed a penalty kick! Willie Lyon, Frank Murphy and Willie Buchan scored the others and this result meant that Celtic needed to lose their last game and Rangers to win their remaining three games by astronomical scores for the Championship to be lost.
In the event, Rangers (who had won the Scottish Cup on the same day that Celtic beat Ayr United 6-0) drew in midweek, and by the time that Celtic went to Firhill on 25 April, they were the champions of Scotland for the first time since 1926.
It had been a hard fought championship much cherished and celebrated by the faithful who now began to see the sunny uplands of hope after a decade of dreadful under-achievement.
Maley revelled in the glory once more while the more modest architects of the League winning – the three Jimmies, McMenemy, McGrory and Delaney – smiled happily, but typical of the men, stressed that it was a team performance.
David Potter
