Dahlball

“ON THE BALL, CITY!” – as told by Roald Dahl

(In which young Norrie Noggin meets a very peculiar parrot in a yellow scarf.)

Down on Carrow Road, where the canaries sing loud,
Where the crowd is as chirpy as any crowd proud,
Lives a team in bright yellow, bold, bonny and neat,
Who can dribble and dazzle on twenty-two feet.

“Come see!” cried old Norrie, “They’re nifty, they’re quick!
They pass it and flick it and give it a kick!
They spin it, they chip it, they wallop the ball —
And when they score one, they score two, three, or all!”

⸻

Then up popped a parrot, with plumage so green,
He flapped and he squawked like a fan full of beans.
He winked and he whistled, “You lucky young sprout!
You’re in Norwich, my boy — so sing, don’t just shout!”

He puffed out his feathers, stood tall on the rail,
And began to belt out with a gusto that’d gale:

“Kick it and trick it, and never give in,
Spin it and skin it, and chase till you win!
O-oh we’re the Canaries, the brightest in flight,
We’ll peck out a goal in the cold or the light!”

⸻

“Up the pitch, down the pitch, hoof it or roll it,
Even if soggy, just keep on control-it!
Give it some welly, go racing, go on!
You’re Norwich City, my lad — now sing the song!”

⸻

So Norrie joined in, with a grin ear to ear,
And the crowd turned the noise up — oh dear, what a cheer!
They sang for the city, the castle, the skies,
Till even the magpies got tears in their eyes.

“Come on you Yellows! Come run and come play!
Let’s win it again in our own canary way!
We’ll biff it and whiff it and baffle them all,
On the Ball, City — now that’s football!”

⸻

The whistle blew thrice, the fans clapped and clattered,
And Norrie cried, “Parrot! We’ve only just battered
The whole of the league — what a marvellous spree!”
The parrot squawked back: “That’s the Norwich in me!”

And off they both flew — scarf flapping, heart sunny —
Two Norfolk birds singing for love, not for money.
And if you walk past the River Wensum today,
You might hear them chanting the Carrow Road way:

“Kick it and trick it, and never give in!
Sing it and swing it — we’ll always win!
For once you’ve heard City, you’ll never stay still —
On the Ball, City — and always will!”

Posted By: jamesward, Nov 13, 14:43:53