To the average sports follower, the music that is played in a clubhouse before and after a game probably does not matter much. Realistically, how much does a song impact a team's ability to perform on the field?
For those doubting, just ask any Phillies fan how one single tune can impact an entire city, let alone just a ball club.
Philadelphia is in the midst of its second consecutive deep postseason run. After reaching the World Series in 2022, but falling to the Astros, the Phillies are back, currently in the NLCS against the Diamondbacks.
There have been plenty of outside factors that have helped contribute to the team's success. The crazy crowds at Citizens Bank Park have made Philadelphia a monster to play against for visiting clubs. A standing ovation earlier in the year may have single-handedly turned around Trea Turner's season.
However, when it comes to victory songs, if ain't broke, don't fix it — and that's what the Phillies have done, bringing back their celebration tune of "Dancing on My Own" by Calum Scott.
Citizens Bank Park celebrating after Game 1 and singing Dancing On My Own. #phillies #philly #MLBPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/KM6unL6fWo
— VG (@ViolationsGreg) October 4, 2023
#RedOctober pic.twitter.com/vrHti8VcPm
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) October 13, 2023
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To add more pressure to the Phillies, Scott has come out and said that if the Phillies get back to the World Series this year, he'll come to Philadelphia to properly celebrate.
"They win the World Series, I’m there, man," Scott said. "I think at that point, you’ll have to hold me back."
The song was a rallying cry last season as the Phillies captured their first NL pennant since 2009. Will it work again in 2023?
How 'Dancing on My Own' became Phillies' playoff anthem
The Phillies can thank Kyle Schwarber and the 2021 Red Sox for the victory song.
During Boston's run to the 2021 ALCS, the team used the same remix of the Robyn hit to fuel the club during the postseason. Catcher Kevin Plawecki had started using the song as his walkup music during the 2020 season, but it carried over into the 2021 campaign and was played, in Plawecki's words, "way too much."
Nonetheless, the song stuck, and when Boston made noise in the postseason, it was a rallying cry for the team. However, the Red Sox lost to the Astros in the ALCS, and the song's juice ran out.
Schwarber was a part of that Boston club, and when he signed with the Phillies in 2022, he brought the tune with him to the City of Brotherly Love. It may have been embraced in the Red Sox clubhouse and by the fans at Fenway Park, but the song has taken on a life of its own in Philadelphia.
It wasn't just a fun celebration ditty to play after a win — it was everywhere in Philly. From bars to weddings to the streets of Philadelphia, it was impossible to not hear the song being belted out somewhere as the Phillies made a run to the World Series. It was the No. 1 song on the postseason party playlist and stayed that way until the Astros knocked off the Phillies in the World Series.
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After failing to win the title last year, the Phillies decided to leave the song in 2022, coming up with something different from 2023. The team considered it a "second-place song", and wanted to move on.
That is, until the Phillies found themselves at 25-32 in the beginning of June. They had one of the worst records in the league and the clubhouse was in desperate need of a jolt. According to hitting coach Kevin Long, the team tried a variety of different music to bring the good vibes back, but nothing hit the same as when "Dancing on My Own" came back on.
"That might be part of being Philly — that song," Long said. "It just might be a part of everything that goes on here. That song was a part of us. It's part of being a Philadelphia Phillie. So those guys that weren’t here (in 2022), it doesn’t matter.
"This is part of who we are. So let’s just play the song. Let’s not try to find a new song. We have a song. The song works and everybody jives with it. Everybody likes it. Everybody gets a good feeling from it."
It was undoubtedly the correct choice. The team played it after a June 3 win over the Nationals, as everyone called for the victory song to be blasted from the speakers. After bringing the song back, the Phillies went 65-40 to finish out the season, the third-best record in baseball during that span.
"One, it’s a great tune," said catcher Garrett Stubbs, who has a "Phils Win" playlist on Spotify for post-victory celebrations. "I think what it came with last year is what resonates with people, right? If we played that song and we sucked, then people don’t like the song very much.
"But you play the song and we have the group of guys that we have in this clubhouse and you have the vibe of all the personalities that we have, people see that and are drawn to it. And then we win games. It makes the song what it is."
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The response from fans all over has been monumental. The song hit 1 billion streams on Spotify, and Scott had to thank all the Phillies faithful for the love on his hit.
1,000,000,000 streams of my version of ‘Dancing On My Own’ on @Spotify - a ‘thank you’ just doesn’t seem grateful enough but trust me, I am. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/sCcbaBs7jp
— Calum Scott (@calumscott) October 18, 2023
'Dancing on My Own' lyrics
Somebody said you got a new friendDoes she love you better than I can?And there's a big black sky over my townI know where you're at, I bet she's around
And yeah, I know it's stupidBut I just gotta see it for myself
I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, ohI'm right over here, why can't you see me? OhAnd I'm giving it my allI'm not the guy you're taking home, oohI keep dancing on my own, ah
I just wanna dance all nightAnd I'm all messed up, I'm so out of line, yeahStilettos and broken bottlesI'm spinning around in circlesAnd I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, ohAnd I'm right over here, why can't you see me? OhAnd I'm giving it my allBut I'm not the guy you're taking home, oohI keep dancing on my ownAnd oh, nah
So far away but still so nearThe lights come on, the music diesBut you don't see me standing hereI just came to say goodbye
I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, ohAnd I'm giving it my allBut I'm not the guy you're taking home, oohI keep dancing on my ownAnd oh, nahSaid, I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, oh noAnd I'm right over here, why can't you see me? Oh noAnd I'm giving it my allBut I'm not the guy you're taking home, oohI keep dancing on my own
So far away, but still so nearThe lights come on, the music diesBut you don't see me standing here
