Gloryland

Album: Soccer Rocks The Globe (1994)
Charted: 36
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Originally an instrumental and an unofficial US anthem for the 1994 soccer World Cup which was held in the US, most patriotic Americans will recognize the song on which it is based. The clue is in the word glory; alas, there is no glory to be found here.

    AltSounds named it the world World Cup song of all time, saying it is so bad it can "send people into the five stages of grieving." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England
  • This song is a little disconcerting to Daryl Hall fans, who are not accustomed to hearing him sing lyrics like:

    It started with a feeling
    And a dream was born in you
    You hope and pray that come the day
    You'll see that dream come true


    Hall is just the singer on this one - he had no part in writing it. The song's producer Charlie Skarbek wrote it with Rick Blaskey, his partner in a project called Music & Media. In 1991, they wrote the Rugby Cup theme song, "World In Union."
  • The Minnesota gospel group Sounds of Blackness sang on this and appeared in the video with Hall.
  • If this song sounds a bit contrived, perhaps that's because its writers, Charlie Skarbek and Rick Blaskey, are British - an odd choice for a song to represent America. Looking to capture the spirit of the country, they started with "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic" and added Hall and Sounds of Blackness. The result is a Frankenstein's Monster of imagined patriotism that was little heard in America despite a promotional push by the label behind the effort, Polygram. A video was made and Hall was dispatched to promote the song on Adult Contemporary radio stations, but the song was soundly rejected in the United States. It fared better in the UK, where it charted at #36.
  • Hall and Sounds of Blackness performed this at the opening ceremony of the 1994 World Cup in Chicago, where they were introduced by Oprah Winfrey.
  • Hall also recorded a Spanish version called "In Gloria."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The Devil

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The DevilSong Writing

Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?

U2

U2Fact or Fiction

How did The Edge get his name? Did they name a song after a Tolkien book? And who is "Angel of Harlem" about?

Rupert Hine

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.