Take Me Out To The Ball Game (over and over and over again)

You know how kids, and I guess some adults too, can get stuck on something. Like a song. And they listen to it over and over and over and over and over again? Well, that would be my kids with a CD we got with a book of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game.” The book was an Easter present for Sean from Grandma. Of course, we do like ball games and Sean and Cara know the words to the chorus. But now, thanks to Carly Simon’s rendition, we know all the words to the whole song that Jack Norworth wrote.

I love that Sean will change the words from time to time to meet his current sport needs. For example … “for it’s one, two, three, four quarters at the old basketball game!” Great imagination. I like to change the words too …

Katie Casey {Cara Kless} was baseball mad,
Had the fever and had it bad.
Just to root for the home town crew,
Ev'ry cent, that Katie {Cara} spent.
On a Saturday her young beau
Called to see if she'd like to go
To see a show, but Miss Kate {Cara} said "No,
I'll tell you what you can do."

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win, it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game.

Katie Casey {Cara Kless} saw all the games,
Knew the players by their first names.
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along,
She was strong.
When the score was just two to two,
Katie Casey {Cara Kless} knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song.

I did a little research on the song and this version was the original written in 1908, or at least pretty close to the original. Another version was written in 1927 that featured “Nelly Kelly”. I personally like Katie Casey better. It is said to have first been played at a MLB game in 1934. What I find really interesting is that Jack Norworth had never been to a MLB game prior to writing the song. Looks like he had a great imagination too.