Here Comes the King

Here Comes the King is a well-known advertising jingle written for Budweiser, the flagship brand of the Anheuser-Busch brewery, and whose slogan is, "The King of Beers". First played in 1967, it is often played as a theme song for the Budweiser Clydesdale horses pulling the Budweiser beer wagon (such as winter-themed TV commercials around Christmas time). It was written, words and music, by Steve Karmen.

Lyrics

Partial lyric:

Here comes the King, here comes the Big Number One

Budweiser Beer is Beer that's second to none

The King is calling, so loud and clear

There's only one Budweiser Beer

There's only one Budweiser Beer

The song concludes with a referback to an earlier well-known jingle (see below):

When you say Bud you've said it all

When you say Bud you've said it all

When You Say Bud

The Budweiser jingle "When You Say 'Bud'," also written by Steve Karmen, first appeared in 1970, and part of its lyric inspired "Here Comes the King". The song can be heard on the CD Tee Vee Toons: The Commercials. Its style resembles the famous Coca-Cola jingle "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" (also heard on that CD) in that it begins with a lone voice, joined by another singer, and eventually a choral group. The underlying instrumental is imitative of a stereotypical German band. Many of the lines are punctuated at the end by a double drumbeat:

When you say "Bud"

You've said a lot of things nobody else can say

When you say "Bud"

You've gone as far as you can go to get the very best

When you say "Bud"

You've said the word that means you like to do it all

When you say "Bud"

It means you want the beer that's got a taste that's number one

When you say "Bud"

You tell the world you know what makes it all the way

When you say "Bud"

You say you care enough to only want the King of Beers

There is no other one

There's only something less

Because the King of Beers

Is leading all the rest

When you say "Budweiser"

You've said it all

Sonny & Cher recorded a song titled, "When You Say Love", written to the tune of this jingle, which reached Number 32 on the Billboard chart in 1972.

Popular culture

"Here Comes the King" can also be heard in the middle of the eighth inning during all St. Louis Cardinals home games, and was played continuously throughout the home games at the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Detroit Tigers 2006 World Series home games. During the period when Anheuser-Busch owned the Cardinals, it was played instead of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch. It is also played during the third period at St. Louis Blues home games on the organ. Saint Louis University also takes to playing the song during half-time of home basketball games. The SLU pep-band plays the song while the student section sings the lyrics.

The tuba section of the Florida State University Marching Chiefs, The Royal Flush, plays "Here Comes the King" while entering any time that they perform as a section.

Georgia Tech bands play "When You Say Bud" regularly at GT sporting and alumni events. The band first played the song in 1970 as a tribute to then-head coach Bud Carson, and the tradition has remained strong. "Bud" is played between the 3rd and 4th quarters at football games, during the second half of Tech basketball games, as well as during volleyball matches, and as part of the 7th inning stretch in baseball games. The band gathers at the library fountain to play "Bud" before they parade down Bobby Dodd Way into the football stadium before games. The large tuba section starts off the song from various locations—the breezeway between the library and Skiles classroom building, the balcony of the library's second floor, or even the roof of the library rotunda. The Tech band and fans bob up and down to the beat of the song, and end each verse with a rousing "Go Georgia Tech" with increasing intensity, and conclude with the familiar "When you say Budweiser, you've said it all!".

The University of Wisconsin–Madison's band also plays that song, changing the last line to "When you say WIS-CON-SIN, you've said it all"

Also, the Keith Stein Blue Thunder Marching Band of Boise State University plays the song at various events, usually following the school's fight song. Keith Stein, the owner of the Anheuser-Busch wholesaler in Boise is a prominent supporter of Boise State University and the band hall bears his name.

The Arizona State University Marching Band once played this song when they received sponsorship from the local Anheuser-Busch distributor. Since then the campus and stadium have gone dry and the song has fallen out of favor. The alumni band still plays the song in recognition of the past.

The jingle also appears in Steven Speilberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", on Roy Neary's TV as he models Devil's Tower in his living room.

External links

• A copy of the Original TV Commercial containing the Jingle.