"Joxer Goes to Stuttgart"
Single by Christy Moore
from the album Live at the Point
Released1989
Recorded1989
GenreNovelty
Length5:11
LabelWEA Records
Songwriter(s)Christy Moore

"Joxer Goes to Stuttgart" is a song by Irish folk singer Christy Moore. It is about a fan, named Joxer, who travels to the Republic of Ireland national football team's first major international tournament, Euro 1988, in West Germany. It is sung to the tune of the Match of the Day theme music, composed by Barry Stoller.[1]

The song is as much a comical social commentary on Ireland in the late 1980s as it is a celebration of the Irish team beating England at a major footballing tournament. The main focus of the song is the game that took place in Stuttgart's Neckarstadion against England on 12 June 1988, a game which Ireland won by a 1–0 scoreline, thanks to a sixth-minute goal from Ray Houghton. However, the song also documents the lives of those following the team and the impact of the tournament on Irish fans.[2]

Some fans of the Irish football team later, more romantically than accurately, attributed the economic development that followed the success of the team in the tournament, and the 1990 World Cup two years later, to that very success itself along with the 'feel good' factor the performances of the side helped foster throughout the country.[3][4][5]

References

  1. ↑ Neville, Conor. "Joxer Goes To Stuttgart - Where Are They Now?".
  2. ↑ "Irish Soccer's Most Memorable Moments, No 25: Joxer Goes To Stuttgart, 1988". JOE.ie.
  3. ↑ Brennan, Colin (21 May 2016). "Watch Christy Moore's powerful performance of classic 'Joxer Goes to Stuttgart'".
  4. ↑ Moore, Christy (16 February 2012). One Voice. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 9781444717198.
  5. ↑ Darby, Paul; Hassan, David (18 October 2013). Emigrant Players: Sport and the Irish Diaspora. Routledge. ISBN 9781317968443.
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