Is ‘The Billy Boys’ Poisoning Glasgow Rangers?

Rangers Fans Are Famous For Creating An Intense Atmosphere

I’ve been through an evolution as a Rangers fan. When I first got my season ticket for Ibrox around the age of 13, “The Billy Boys” was still the most popular song sung at Ibrox and there was something undeniably stirring about it. Certainly, no song since its banning seems to have created the same fervent atmosphere on European nights. When I first started attending Ibrox and hearing that song – it didn’t offend me. It was so much a part of the fabric of watching Rangers that it didn’t jar with me in the same way as now.

The strange thing is that a song containing the line “We’re up to our knees infenian blood, surrender or you’ll die” didn’t leap out at me as inappropriate for a football match. Some songs did – anything that mentioned the UVF for instance. To me that glorified a brand of sectarian violence that was still real, relevant, and claiming lives just across the water from Scotland.

The two are intertwined though, as many Rangers fans will tell you that the eponymous “Billy” is King William of Orange. The events of 300 years ago that he had a role in are at the root of the violence that we sadly still see to this day in Northern Ireland. The truth behind The Billy Boys song is perhaps even more depressing though. You don’t even need to get into the argument over whether a football match is the appropriate setting for a song about Irish history as The Billy Boys doesn’t refer to King William of Orange. The Billy Boys (“…the Bridgeton Derry boys”) of the title were a 1920s Protestant gang in Glasgow led by Billy Fullerton. “Up to our knees in fenian blood”? A reference to their use of razors for purposes other than shaving. Should that be sung at a football match? No. A flat, resounding no.

PSV Managed A 0-1 Win At Ibrox

How about if we do treat it as being ‘an affirmation of Protestant culture and heritage’? Well, if it’s about Protestantism then we should probably look to Scotland’s Protestant churches. The Church of Scotland condemns the singing of such songs and I’m not aware of any Protestant religious grouping that doesn’t. How about if we leave aside the religious aspect and see it as an affirmation of ‘British culture or heritage’? The UK government, the Scottish government, and the police all condemn it. So if you sing that song, don’t pretend that you’re doing it to show that you’re Protestant and don’t pretend that you’re doing it to show that you’re British.

How about singing it to show that you’re a Rangers fan? The club condemns the singing of that song. Singing that song damages Rangers, hence you can’t use your support of the club as any kind of justification for it. How does it damage Rangers? It damages them in the eyes of European football’s governing body. It damages them in the eyes of the media. More importantly though – it damages them in the eyes of people. No, I don’t just mean football fans, I mean people.

I was in Manchester for the Uefa Cup Final. I was inside the stadium so I didn’t see all of the behaviour that disgraced the legacy of Struth, Symon, and Waddell. On the train to and from Manchester I was able to witness the faces of normal commuters as a bunch of drunks caterwauled about being up to their knees in fenian blood. I don’t think too many of them came away from the experience having adopted Rangers as their second club.

McCann Playing Celtic

What was the evolution that I spoke about going through at the start of this article? I grew up. I realised that my words have an impact. I realised that watching the Catholic Neil McCann tear apart Celtic to win the league for Rangers then serenading him with a song about a gang committing GBH on his ancestors wasn’t really appropriate.

How many Rangers fans do I speak for? I don’t know. There are different levels.There are the committed and unashamed bigots. There are those who simply haven’t yet had the life experience to know any better. There are those who stillthink there is such a thing as a “90 minute bigot”. You might like to try that one incourt – “Your honour, I’m really more of a part-time rapist.”

There are also some like me. Those who think that you can be a football fan aswell as a Rangers fan. People who go misty-eyed over the footage of Cooper scoring that Dryburgh Cup Final goal against Celtic, watched in awe as the Norse God Laudrup seemed to glide across the pitch, and admire the quiet stoicism of the dependable Sasa Papac as much as the fist-pumping battling qualities of Lee McCulloch. Those who think the history of Rangers means names like Alan Morton, not names like John Knox.

Usually I’m impressed by Martin Bain’s words but this time I can’t agree with him. He says that Rangers have been treated unfairly as other supporters across Europe engage in offensive singing without the same level of scrutiny as Rangers fans. That’s true – racism in Russia, anti-semitism in Dutch football…they’re huge problems. I’m a Rangers fan though and Martin Bain’s a Rangers employee. We can’t sort out the problems of other clubs in other countries. We can try to sort out the problem at Rangers. If that means closed door matches at Ibrox then I’d accept that. I’d rather a season of punishment than continued shaming of the name of one of Scotland’s greatest institutions.

I grew up. Other people can too.

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