‘A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request’

The Chicago Cubs playing in the MLB post season is the perfect time to revisit a couple of Steve Goodman’s famous baseball ditties – “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request” and “Go Cubs, Go.”

Although leukemia claimed Goodman in 1984, his songwriting legacy lives on. The Chicago native, who penned the classic train song “City Of New Orleans,” was also a diehard Cubs follower. In 1981 he debuted “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request” – a whimsical number that was supposedly banned from being played at Wrigley Field.

But Goodman eventually balanced his tune about the trials and tribulations of a faithful fan with his 1984 composition “Go Cubs, Go,” which ESPN refers to as the team’s “unofficially official victory song.”

Tonight the NLCS moves to Wrigley Field where the Cubs (down 2-0) will face the New York Mets in Game 3 of the series determining which National League team goes to the World Series. And you can bet Steve Goodman will be looking down from songwriter’s heaven as fans sing his lyrics. “Hey Chicago, what do you say …”