"Into the Valley" is a song by Scottish punk rock band Skids, released in 1979 as the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from their debut album ''

Scared to Dance ''Scared to Dance'' is the debut studio album by Scottish punk rock band Skids. It was released on 23 February 1979 by record label Virgin. Writing Anti-war themes are a recurring motif in the album. There are also a great deal of references ...

''. It is their best known song, appearing on a number of

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and

Scottish music Scotland is internationally known for its traditional music, often known as Scottish folk music, which remained vibrant throughout the 20th century and into the 21st when many traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music. Traditiona ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s. 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 William Stuart Adamson (11 April 1958 – 16 December 2001) was a Scottish rock guitarist and singer. Adamson began his career in the late 1970s as a founding member and performer with the punk rock band Skids. After leaving Skids in 1981, he ...

Background

The song's

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

are notoriously unintelligible owing to Jobson's diction. This has been sent up in a

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

for

Maxell , commonly known as Maxell, is a Japanese company (law), company that manufactures consumer electronics. The company's name is a contraction of "Maximum capacity dry cell". Its main products are Battery (electricity), batteries, wireless chargi ...

audio cassettes which features printed (incorrect) "translations" of the words.Skids - "Into The Valley" Maxell advert
/ref> 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 Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

's ''

The Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a military action undertaken by British light cavalry against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, resulting in many casualties to the cavalry. On 25 October 1854, the Light Br ...

.'' 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

"Into the Valley" is still used as a

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

for fans of Scottish football team

Dunfermline Athletic F.C. Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

, the local team of the band, and also English side

Charlton Athletic F.C. Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, London, Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Thei ...

, whose stadium is named The Valley. It was also used by fellow English team

Bradford City A.F.C. Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

, 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. Redditch United Football Club is an English football club based in Redditch, Worcestershire. The club participates in the and play their home games at the Valley Stadium. They are managed by Matt Clarke. History They were originally called Re ...

References

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