December 13th, 2024

‘Heave Away’: Canada’s goal tune at the World Juniors is ‘the song that never dies’

By David Friend, The Canadian Press on January 6, 2023.

St. John's Celtic rock group The Fables, as shown in this handout image, have seen their 1998 recording of "Heave Away" find a new life as Canada's goal song at the world junior hockey championship. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-The Fables **MANDATORY CREDIT**

TORONTO – “Heave away, me jollies, heave away!”

It’s a phrase that Canadian hockey fans couldn’t get enough of at the world junior hockey championship – a Celtic melody played each time that Team Canada scored a goal.

And for Billy Sutton, one of the members of St. John’s band The Fables, it’s a reminder of how their 1998 recording of the traditional sea shanty “Heave Away” has stood the test of time.

Sutton says the band had no idea their song was chosen as Team Canada’s goal horn music this year, usurping a Red Hot Chili Peppers track that had been in use for some time.

The Fables’ rendition of “Heave Away” might sound familiar to some hockey fans, as it was previously the goal music for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Suttons says he’s happier hearing it used by Team Canada instead of the Leafs, mainly because he’s a Habs fan.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2023.

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