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"Into the Valley" is a song by Scottish punk rock band Skids, released in 1979 as the second single from their debut album Scared to Dance. It is their best known song, appearing on a number of punk rock and Scottish music compilation albums. It reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending 24 March 1979. It was written by Richard Jobson and Stuart Adamson.

Background

The song's lyrics are notoriously unintelligible owing to Jobson's diction. This has been sent up in a television advertisement for Maxell audio cassettes which features printed (incorrect) "translations" of the words. The chorus, often misquoted, is actually "Ahoy! Ahoy! Land, sea and sky".

In an interview for Uncut magazine from July 2017, Jobson has said that the lyrics were originally from a poem he wrote aged 16, inspired by Alfred Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade. He reframed his earlier words to reflect his concerns about the recruitment of Scottish youths into the army and more specifically about a friend who had been killed whilst on a tour of duty in Northern Ireland.

In popular culture

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"Into the Valley" is still used as a theme song for fans of Scottish football team Dunfermline Athletic F.C., the local team of the band, and also English side Charlton Athletic F.C., whose stadium is named The Valley. It was also used by fellow English team Bradford City A.F.C., whose stadium is named Valley Parade, during their Premiership years (1999–2001). It is also played as the teams come out at the Valley Stadium, home of Redditch United F.C.

References

1. ^ Monger, James Christopher. Various Artists - Playlist: New Wave (2008) Review at AllMusic. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
2. "Skids". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
3. Skids - "Into The Valley" Maxell advert
4. Clarkson, John (19 March 2009). "Richard Jobson | Interview". Pennyblack Music. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017.
5. Smith, Aidan (8 April 2007). "Once more into the valley". Scotland on Sunday. Archived from the original on 12 November 2007.
6. Pinnock, Tom (5 October 2018). "The Skids recall 'Into The Valley': "There was never a plan"". Uncut. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

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• 1979 songs
• 1979 singles
• Skids (band) songs
• Virgin Records singles
• Songs written by Stuart Adamson
• Songs written by Richard Jobson (television presenter)
• 1970s single stubs