--- title: 'Go Cubs Go' History: The Story Behind the Chicago Cubs Song description: The song, by Steve Goodman, was written following the songwriter's much more bittersweet take on the team canonical: https://time.com/4556535/go-cubs-go-song-history/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-03T19:11:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:36:28.212Z article:section: History og:title: 'Go Cubs Go' History: The Story Behind the Chicago Cubs Song og:description: The peppy song, by Steve Goodman, came after a much more bittersweet take on the team og:url: https://time.com/4556535/go-cubs-go-song-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta0786a663fca94fe/6988acd5428a9e592acd4df8/gettyimages-620763588.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: 2016 World Series - Chicago Cubs v. Cleveland Indians: Game Seven og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Go Cubs Go' History: The Story Behind the Chicago Cubs Song twitter:description: The peppy song, by Steve Goodman, came after a much more bittersweet take on the team twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta0786a663fca94fe/6988acd5428a9e592acd4df8/gettyimages-620763588.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Bittersweet Story Behind the 'Go Cubs Go' Song  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Nov 3, 2016 7:11 PM UTC  Members of the Chicago Cubs celebrate defeating the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on November 2, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio. Members of the Chicago Cubs celebrate defeating the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on November 2, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio.Rob Tringali/MLB Photos—Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Nov 3, 2016 7:11 PM UTC “_Hey Chicago, whaddaya say? / The Cubs are gonna win today.”_ The refrain of the Chicago Cubs’ team song rang especially true on Wednesday night, when the team [ended its 108-year World Series ](http://time.com/4555453/cubs-win-world-series-how-chicago-broke-the-curse/)drought, and baseball fans across the country likely woke up with the notes of “Go Cubs Go” stuck in their heads. The song “Go Cubs Go” was written ahead of the 1984 season by Steve Goodman, the Chicago-born songwriter who also wrote the Grammy Award-winning “City of New Orleans,” popularized by folk legend Arlo Guthrie. WGN Radio’s program director Dan Fabian had been looking for a hipper song to play over broadcasts than “It’s a Beautiful Day for a Ballgame,” [according to](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-go-cubs-go-anthem-reborn-at-wrigley-field-20161025-column.html) the Chicago _Tribune._ Fabian realized Goodman was the man for the job, even if he had offended the Cubs then-manager Dallas Green a year earlier when he debuted the song [“A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request,](http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po%5Fcubs.shtml)” which referred to the team as “the doormat of the National League.” That song is considered autobiographical, as Goodman had been battling leukemia since he was 20 years old. “What’s important is to stay on top of the game. I’ve had less depressing things happen to me, but I never once thought I was alone. There are too many people on my side. I couldn’t fail. We overwhelmed it with numbers,” Goodman [told _People_ ](http://people.com/archive/a-singer-songwriter-fights-his-14-year-battle-against-leukemia-with-chemotherapy-and-humor-vol-20-no-14/)in 1983, speaking of his health. “We haven’t won yet. The game is still on. But it’s great to be in the game.” He died on Sept. 20, 1984, at the age of 36, six months after writing “Go Cubs Go.” His ashes were scattered onto [Wrigley Field](http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news%5Fcolumnists%5Fezorn/2007/10/steve-goodman-r.html), per the lyrics in “A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request”: _Let my ashes blow in a beautiful snow / From the prevailing 30 mile an hour southwest wind / When my last remains go flying over the left-field wall._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4556535/go-cubs-go-song-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4556535/go-cubs-go-song-history/"},"headline":"The Bittersweet Story Behind the 'Go Cubs Go' Song","datePublished":"2016-11-03T19:11:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:36:28.212Z","description":"The peppy song, by Steve Goodman, came after a much more bittersweet take on the team","url":"https://time.com/4556535/go-cubs-go-song-history/","keywords":["Sports topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta0786a663fca94fe/6988acd5428a9e592acd4df8/gettyimages-620763588.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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