Baseball related songs: “Ichiro’s theme” by Ben Gibbard
In today’s episode of “Baseball related songs” we pay attention to “Ichiro’s theme” performed by Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard. With the trade of Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees by the Seattle Mariners, Gibbard released this song as a thank you for 10,5 great years with the M’s.
On the day, the Mariners traded Ichiro to the Yankees, Gibbard, who had written the song a few years earlier, posted it on his Soundcloud page: “I wrote this a few years ago,” the singer wrote, posting the track on his Soundcloud page. “Today seems like the best day to let you all hear it. Thank you, Ichiro.”
Ichiro wasn’t only a great hitter as he broke George Sisler’s seasonal base hit record by five hits, setting it to 262 in 2004, he was also blessed with a rifle arm as is shown in the clip below.
That Dave, the song is referring to in the last stanza is, of course, David Arnold Niehaus, who was the Mariners’ play-by-play radio announcer from their inaugural year (1977) until his death in 2010.
The song has vintage power-pop melodies while Gibbard sings fondly of Ichiro’s base-stealing prowess, gushing, “Ichiro, you’re wonderful.”
Gibbard released his first solo album in 2016 and “Ichiro’s Theme” was a part of it.
The lyrics of Ichiro’s Theme are as follows:
Go go go go Ichiro
Rounding third and heading for home
Don’t you know
Beats the throw
Dave says on the radio,
“Ichiro, you’re unbelievable”
Rode the wave to the northwest coast
He arrived ten years ago
He manned right field
He’s on patrol
Throwing out runners on a frozen rope
Go go go go Ichiro
Rounding third and heading for home
Don’t you know
Beats the throw
Dave says on the radio,
“Ichiro, you’re unbelievable”
He’s the man, number 51
From the land of the rising sun
He’s at the plate with the game on the line
The M’s are gonna win it every time
Go go go go Ichiro
Rounding third and heading for home
Don’t you know
Beats the throw
Dave says on the radio,
“Ichiro, you’re unbelievable”
Any given moment he could completely blow your mind
So don’t you take your eye
Off Ichiro
He stops the ball with the greatest of ease
And when he steals second, he don’t say please
If they’re not careful he’ll take third too
Oh Ichiro it’s why we love you.
Go go go go Ichiro
Rounding third and heading for home
Don’t you know
Beats the throw
Dave says on the radio,
“Ichiro, you’re unbelievable”
Go go go go Ichiro
Rounding third and heading for home
Everyone knows
He’ll Beat the throw
And Dave says on the radio,
“Ichiro, you’re unbelievable”