Is this the original Billy boys words ?

[-ZED-]

The tune is not banned. FACT

Correct.

Reference to the Billy Boys (razor gang) and 19th Century Terrorists is.

 

[LJ50]

The tune is not banned. FACT

There has been plenty of evidence of the reality of the situation posted in this thread.

What evidence do you have to present, other than “FACT”?

 

[LJ50]

Correct.

Reference to the Billy Boys (razor gang) and 19th Century Terrorists is.

Please stop spreading this misinformation. Page 12 and page 14 of the judgement. As much as we might wish it wasn’t, it is there in black and white.

 

[southsidebluenose]

There has been plenty of evidence of the reality of the situation posted in this thread.

What evidence do you have to present, other than “FACT”?

You keep saying this whilst ignoring the wording from the judgement which I’ve quoted two or three times now. It reads as though the words in combination with the melody are considered sectarian. Doesn’t say anything about the melody in isolation.

The club might have said this song is banned in all forms but the UEFA judgement is far from clear on that. Given the mess our legal team made of the defence in ‘06, I’m far from convinced that they’ve interpreted the intention of the judgement accurately.

Like I say, it is worth debate and the recent charges would be a prime opportunity to get in front of UEFA and ask them to clarify exactly what they are concerned with (despite how obvious you might think it is).

 

[LJ50]

You keep saying this whilst ignoring the wording from the judgement which I’ve quoted two or three times now. It reads as though the words in combination with the melody are considered sectarian. Doesn’t say anything about the melody in isolation.

The club might have said this song is banned in all forms but the UEFA judgement is far from clear on that. Given the mess our legal team made of the defence in ‘06, I’m far from convinced that they’ve interpreted the intention of the judgement accurately.

Like I say, it is worth debate and the recent charges would be a prime opportunity to get in front of UEFA and ask them to clarify exactly what they are concerned with (despite how obvious you might think it is).

Mate, I genuinely understand why you want to see ambiguity. Honestly I do. But I don’t know how much more unambiguous the words “melody” and “any form” could be. The Club didn’t say the song was banned in any form, the judgement did. The club just repeated it.

If, somehow, there is a case that overturns or amends the previous judgement, then we can start telling people that it’s OK to sing if we drop the word 19th Century Terrorist. Until then, it’s simply reckless and playing a dangerous gamble with the our Club’s future participation in European competition.

 

[allygaitken]

No need to be offensive in suggesting I’m not capable of reading . In any case it is said that the song cannot be sung as it contains the word 19th Century Terrorist which is defined as racist and sectarian . The real truth of the matter is if the word was changed to Celtic then there is feck all they could have done about it . The fact it’s come to this means everyone is too scared to challenge the fact that the song is not racist or sectarian without that word in it .

can someone please tell Uefa that 19th Century Terrorists are not a race, nor are they a religious organisation... i believe that they are supporters/members of a proscribed, illegal terrorist organisation/s

 

[allygaitken]

the definition on Wikipedia is as follows.for what a 19th Century Terrorist is: they are not a race, they do not belong exclusively to a religion as i am damn sure that i could be one, a muslim could be one, a jew could be one.....

member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a 19th-century revolutionary nationalist organization among the Irish in the US and Ireland. The 19th Century Terrorists staged an unsuccessful revolt in Ireland in 1867 and were responsible for isolated revolutionary acts against the British until the early 20th century, when they were gradually eclipsed by the IRA.

 

[southsidebluenose]

the definition on Wikipedia is as follows.for what a 19th Century Terrorist is: they are not a race, they do not belong exclusively to a religion as i am damn sure that i could be one, a muslim could be one, a jew could be one.....

member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a 19th-century revolutionary nationalist organization among the Irish in the US and Ireland. The 19th Century Terrorists staged an unsuccessful revolt in Ireland in 1867 and were responsible for isolated revolutionary acts against the British until the early 20th century, when they were gradually eclipsed by the IRA.

To be clear here, the judgement doesn’t only take issue with the word 19th Century Terrorist. The entire origins of the song are discussed in which it is linked back to the Billy Boys role in essentially ostracising catholics in Glasgow during the period. There is also reference made to a klu klux klan against catholics.

It was a stitch up insofar as those providing the evidence didn’t want their identities disclosed but they were identified as being independent and holding a number of university degrees... Likely the haggerty and co of their day.

The club were also clearly unprepared to defend the charges insofar as they thought it would fall on the grounds of UEFA having no jurisdiction (arguing it should have been retained by the Scottish courts).

My argument is with the notion that the melody in isolation was deemed sectarian that day. I argue it was not - but only when combined with the lyrics.

But let’s be very clear. The lyrics in question were not the word 19th Century Terrorist alone. It was the entire premise of the song and what it celebrated. Even if I were right and the melody could be used, we would have to change the entire song not just the one word.

 

[-ZED-]

Please stop spreading this misinformation. Page 12 and page 14 of the judgement. As much as we might wish it wasn’t, it is there in black and white.

Please stop spreading this misinformation. Page 12 and page 14 of the judgement. As much as we might wish it wasn’t, it is there in black and white.

show me where it says the melody is banned.

 

[allygaitken]

To be clear here, the judgement doesn’t only take issue with the word 19th Century Terrorist. The entire origins of the song are discussed in which it is linked back to the Billy Boys role in essentially ostracising catholics in Glasgow during the period. There is also reference made to a klu klux klan against catholics.

It was a stitch up insofar as those providing the evidence didn’t want their identities disclosed but they were identified as being independent and holding a number of university degrees... Likely the haggerty and co of their day.

The club were also clearly unprepared to defend the charges insofar as they thought it would fall on the grounds of UEFA having no jurisdiction (arguing it should have been retained by the Scottish courts).

My argument is with the notion that the melody in isolation was deemed sectarian that day. I argue it was not - but only when combined with the lyrics.

But let’s be very clear. The lyrics in question were not the word 19th Century Terrorist alone. It was the entire premise of the song and what it celebrated. Even if I were right and the melody could be used, we would have to change the entire song not just the one word.

i stand corrected- said the man with a built up shoe!

why do kilmarnock not get pulled up? or is it only a perception by Uefa that because we are predominantly a protestant support we must be punished..... is this not sectarianism in its most basic form?

 

[deedle]

To be clear here, the judgement doesn’t only take issue with the word 19th Century Terrorist. The entire origins of the song are discussed in which it is linked back to the Billy Boys role in essentially ostracising catholics in Glasgow during the period. There is also reference made to a klu klux klan against catholics.

It was a stitch up insofar as those providing the evidence didn’t want their identities disclosed but they were identified as being independent and holding a number of university degrees... Likely the haggerty and co of their day.

The club were also clearly unprepared to defend the charges insofar as they thought it would fall on the grounds of UEFA having no jurisdiction (arguing it should have been retained by the Scottish courts).

My argument is with the notion that the melody in isolation was deemed sectarian that day. I argue it was not - but only when combined with the lyrics.

But let’s be very clear. The lyrics in question were not the word 19th Century Terrorist alone. It was the entire premise of the song and what it celebrated. Even if I were right and the melody could be used, we would have to change the entire song not just the one word.

This all goes back to McConnell's Section 74 clause in 2003 which introduced the notion that a crime could be 'aggravated by religious prejudice' thereby leading to greater punishment. This was his big idea to stop sectarianism.

The phrasing of this clause carefully excluded the Celtic IRA repertoire. It would obviously include 'FTP'.

However, it didn't seem worthwhile going to all the bother of simply outlawing 'FTP' and this is why the obsession over '19th Century Terrorist' began. They simply had to outlaw the word '19th Century Terrorist' and hence 'The Billy Boys'.

The clause in itself shouldn't strictly speaking have resulted in more arrests but that's the way the police and COPFS interpreted it.

 

[southsidebluenose]

i stand corrected- said the man with a built up shoe!

why do kilmarnock not get pulled up? or is it only a perception by Uefa that because we are predominantly a protestant support we must be punished..... is this not sectarianism in its most basic form?

Probably a couple of reasons for that - one will be the frequency and profile of our games at a UEFA level (UEL in recent years) - they don’t have jurisdiction over domestic competition; second will be that Kilmarnock’s song doesn’t make reference to the Billy Boys (is it not the Killie Boys?) in which case the premise of the song is entirely different (I.e. not celebrating a group which persecuted catholics).

 

[LJ50]

show me where it says the melody is banned.

As pointed out countless times in this thread. Top of page 12 references the melody being enough to associate with sectarianism. Middle of page 14 where it says the song “in any form”.

 

[allygaitken]

A shame pointed out countless times in this thread. Top of page 12 references the melody being enough to associate with sectarianism. Middle of page 14 where it says the song “in any form”.

what if we done the billy boys through the medium of modern dance?

 

[allygaitken]

what if we done the billy boys through the medium of modern dance?

to a tune Bernstein wrote for west side story, do you think that we could sneak this in? the sharks being 19th Century Terrorists and the jets being the good guys!

 

[daven37]

A goal! A goal!
We’re ready to acclaim,
A goal! A goal!
To win another game,
We’re followers of Rangers,
Our hearts are strong and true,
We are the people who cheer the boys in blue.

My recollection is that these are the original words

This is my idea of the original words and there is no reason why we should not sing them.

The We Are The People chant gets on their tits as well.

 

[allygaitken]

i like to be in America fits perfectly- make it so!!!

 

[allygaitken]

i like to be in America fits perfectly- make it so!!!

this is fairly similar to the Man U version!

 

[LJ50]

what if we done the billy boys through the medium of modern dance?

Ha, then as long as we did it silently then we’d be fine under the existing judgement. They might issue another one though banning dance, and to be honest I’d be with them on that one

 

[allygaitken]

l

This is my idea of the original words and there is no reason why we should not sing them.

The We Are The People chant gets on their tits as well.

good shout! wee arra people - you are paedoes! chanted for 90 mins next Sunday ...... in between cheering for our goals would certainly be a thing to behold!

 

[Southernlion]

I posted it earlier in the thread.

Thank you.
Although anonymous complainants and anonymous academics stick in the craw

 

[Southernlion]

As others are suggesting alternatives one I remember from after a certain match in 1988, when we also sang Happy Birthday to Them, was;
By one, by two, by three or four or five,
By one, by two, by three or four or five,
We'll f-k the Celtic any day, as sure as I'm alive,
By one, two, three or four or five,

but my reading is that that is also banned.

 

[Stez64]

If you can read my post then you are also capable of reading the directive. Just because you don’t want it to be true, it doesn’t mean it’s not. Just because it isn’t fair, it doesn’t mean they can’t.

Keep hearing about this... can you post it so the forum can see for themselves.
I reckon it's a myth.

 

[LJ50]

Keep hearing about this... can you post it so the forum can see for themselves.
I reckon it's a myth.

You reckon wrong. I posted it in the first page of this thread and the link has been reposted in other post within the thread.

 

[-ZED-]

As pointed out countless times in this thread. Top of page 12 references the melody being enough to associate with sectarianism. Middle of page 14 where it says the song “in any form”.

It says the Billy boys in any form, this is not the tune. It’s any reference to the Billy boys

 

[LJ50]

It says the Billy boys in any form, this is not the tune. It’s any reference to the Billy boys

Page 12. At the top. It says that their view is that melody is sufficient, when sung us us, to be associated with sectarianism.

We have another poster who, fairly, questions would like even more clear confirmation that’s it’s not just the combination. But the Club clarified this at the time and until we get some official contradiction of that, it would be errant stupidity to fail to heed it just because we don’t like it.

 

[-ZED-]

I really don’t.

But it is really, really fucking important that people understand this. We don’t have to like it. But we have to accept it or it’ll be empty Ibrox, followed by no Europe, followed by more years in the wilderness as a result of the financial and reputational damage it will do to us. Anyone who thinks we attract Gerrard as our manger and retain players like Morelos when we have no money and no European football to offer them is utterly delusional.

After everything we’ve been through, I can’t face that.

You are wrong.

The judgement clearly states that “The opening words ‘We are the Billy boys’ as well as the melody is sufficient to make an association with an attitude that is stongly sectarian.

Therefore you need both the words and the tune to be deemed sectarian.

The clue is in the words AND, not OR.

 

[Klos the Boss]

Don’t be ridiculous. UEFA can’t ban the song they can only ban the words that are offensive

In an ideal world you're right, but it's not an ideal world, if we sing anything to the tune of BBs, even with non offensive words, I'll guarantee someone will hear the tune, imagine words that ain't there, and before you know it media are running a story about the return of the BBs

 

[LJ50]

You are wrong.

The judgement clearly states that “The opening words ‘We are the Billy boys’ as well as the melody is sufficient to make an association with an attitude that is stongly sectarian.

Therefore you need both the words and the tune to be deemed sectarian.

In your view... Not the view of the Club, then or now. Not the view of the joint statement. Not in the view of UEFA. “As well as” was not considered to be the same ask “along with”. It meant “either”, not necessarily both. Otherwise, there was no need whatsoever to mention the melody at all given the prescribing of the words elsewhere.

We’re entitled to our view, sadly they have no weight with respect to UEFA.

 

[Sam English]

A goal! A goal!
We’re ready to acclaim,
A goal! A goal!
To win another game,
We’re followers of Rangers,
Our hearts are strong and true,
We are the people who cheer the boys in blue.

My recollection is that these are the original words

Had that version on an old Rangers album from the 60's

 

[John Gemmell]

As others are suggesting alternatives one I remember from after a certain match in 1988, when we also sang Happy Birthday to Them, was;
By one, by two, by three or four or five,
By one, by two, by three or four or five,
We'll f-k the Celtic any day, as sure as I'm alive,
By one, two, three or four or five,

but my reading is that that is also banned.

I remember singing this many years ago. Instead of We'll f-k the Celtic to beat the celtic.
Bring it back.

 

[southsidebluenose]

You are wrong.

The judgement clearly states that “The opening words ‘We are the Billy boys’ as well as the melody is sufficient to make an association with an attitude that is stongly sectarian.

Therefore you need both the words and the tune to be deemed sectarian.

The clue is in the words AND, not OR.

Read back through my posts in this thread. I’ve largely interpreted the judgement in the same way as you. The issue is that we can’t simply change the words and plead ignorance with UEFA. If they try and sanction us again, it will be severe and they won’t hear this argument about ambiguity in the judgement (which I reiterate, I believe there to be). I’m advocating that the club engages with UEFA on this most recent sanction to clarify what the offending act actually was. This would allow us to address the ambiguity in the previous judgement and provide transparency to fans over UEFA’s issue (as opposed to assumption). If it’s the specific word (19th Century Terrorist/FTP), lyrics (the Billy Boys), or the melody...

 

[Cyberniv]

In your view... Not the view of the Club, then or now. Not the view of the joint statement. Not in the view of UEFA. “As well as” was not considered to be the same ask “along with”. It meant “either”, not necessarily both. Otherwise, there was no need whatsoever to mention the melody at all given the prescribing of the words elsewhere.

We’re entitled to our view, sadly they have no weight with respect to UEFA.

Well done throughout the thread.
All you have said is my memory of it at the time. If any fingers have to be pointed, mine would be at Sir David of Duped.
It was my view then and now that he wanted rid of TBB and did precious little to prevent UEFA banning it. Worse than that he completely caved in.

 

[Stez64]

Well done throughout the thread.
All you have said is my memory of it at the time. If any fingers have to be pointed, mine would be at Sir David of Duped.
It was my view then and now that he wanted rid of TBB and did precious little to prevent UEFA banning it. Worse than that he completely caved in.

Ye, so he fabricated the "and the tune " bit.
It's a crock of shit.
Change the whole song, every last word and reinvent it to " The Rangers Boys" , and you've still got the best football anthem in the world

 

[LJ50]

Well done throughout the thread.
All you have said is my memory of it at the time. If any fingers have to be pointed, mine would be at Sir David of Duped.
It was my view then and now that he wanted rid of TBB and did precious little to prevent UEFA banning it. Worse than that he completely caved in.

In unmerited defence of the disgraceful charlatan, we did defend - and we did win - the original case. There are question marks over the quality of the defence of the Appeal, but you can see from the judgement that we submitted a body of evidence on our behalf. The Appeal Body took, in my view, the extraordinary approach of not even reviewing some of it as they viewed it as unnecessary; so it may be that the quality of our defence would have made no difference. But we didn’t merely cave in IMO.

The real damage was done outside of the process. The real damage was done by Murray’s refusal to lobby and advocate aggressively on our behalf in the corridors of power in football. Our enemies did that, they got placemen inside FARE, they got Happel on board with their “cause”, they got noisy journalists directing UEFA to preferred “academics”. The Club was out-manoeuvred all too easily, but in this instance I don’t think it was that they simply caved in. If they had, they would have accepted the initial charge.

 

[Cyberniv]

Ye, so he fabricated the "and the tune " bit.
It's a crock of shit.
Change the whole song, every last word and reinvent it to " The Rangers Boys" , and you've still got the best football anthem in the world

Read the Directive. Your or my interpretation of what it means is irrelevant. It's what UEFA decide it means that we have to act on. Murray maintained that the Club was informed by UEFA that TBB is banned in any form.
As I said, I've always thought he wanted it gone, probably because he never trusted the support, treated us with contempt and feared it would cost him money in the long run.
Did he mislead the support and UEFA would accept changed lyrics? He was never slow to do that, but in this case probably not.

 

[Cyberniv]

In unmerited defence of the disgraceful charlatan, we did defend - and we did win - the original case. There are question marks over the quality of the defence of the Appeal, but you can see from the judgement that we submitted a body of evidence on our behalf. The Appeal Body took, in my view, the extraordinary approach of not even reviewing some of it as they viewed it as unnecessary; so it may be that the quality of our defence would have made no difference. But we didn’t merely cave in IMO.

The real damage was done outside of the process. The real damage was done by Murray’s refusal to lobby and advocate aggressively on our behalf in the corridors of power in football. Our enemies did that, they got placemen inside FARE, they got Happel on board with their “cause”, they got noisy journalists directing UEFA to preferred “academics”. The Club was out-manoeuvred all too easily, but in this instance I don’t think it was that they simply caved in. If they had, they would have accepted the initial charge.

I think we were outmanoeuvred, and we certainly were, because his heart was never in it. As you say, he never bothered to cover all bases in our defence. He found it easier to walk away, abuse the support and keep his nose clean. Not the first or last time he took the line of least resistance.
I think there may have been others in the Club who presented our case to UEFA and when it came to the question "What do we do now?" and perhaps caving in is putting it too strongly, he couldn't find the courage to take up the cudgels on behalf of the Club. There's a shock.

 

[LJ50]

I think we were outmanoeuvred, and we certainly were, because his heart was never in it. As you say, he never bothered to cover all bases in our defence. He found it easier to walk away, abuse the support and keep his nose clean. Not the first or last time he took the line of least resistance.
I think there may have been others in the Club who presented our case to UEFA and when it came to the question "What do we do now?" and perhaps caving in is putting it too strongly, he couldn't find the courage to take up the cudgels on behalf of the Club. There's a shock.

I think that is pretty bang on.

 

[Stez64]

Read the Directive. Your or my interpretation of what it means is irrelevant. It's what UEFA decide it means that we have to act on. Murray maintained that the Club was informed by UEFA that TBB is banned in any form.
As I said, I've always thought he wanted it gone, probably because he never trusted the support, treated us with contempt and feared it would cost him money in the long run.
Did he mislead the support and UEFA would accept changed lyrics? He was never slow to do that, but in this case probably not.

The support took heed that TFS was taboo and dropped it. They then used the same tune for 4 lads.

We are clearly being victimised over this and I'm sure if it was widely publicised that if we had a chance to create a completely new song with the same outstanding noise that TBB created, then the fans would grab it in an instant , whilst binning TBB at the same time .
It's time to fight back at the haters and get this done .
Someone with a bit of clout, @Papasmurf and the guys who rid us of the vermin from The Broomy.
This can be done, and if we do create a new song and UEFA still say "No" , then at least we tried .

 

[LJ50]

The support took heed that TFS was taboo and dropped it. They then used the same tune for 4 lads.

We are clearly being victimised over this and I'm sure if it was widely publicised that if we had a chance to create a completely new song with the same outstanding noise that TBB created, then the fans would grab it in an instant , whilst binning TBB at the same time .
It's time to fight back at the haters and get this done .
Someone with a bit of clout, @Papasmurf and the guys who rid us of the vermin from The Broomy.
This can be done, and if we do create a new song and UEFA still say "No" , then at least we tried .

Except that they won’t “say no”; they’ll shut Ibrox for a game or eject us from theirs competitions. That’s how we’ll get our “no”. That’s the next step in the process for what they view as recidivism.

Still think it’s worth a try? Personally, I don’t really want to gamble with the club’s future like that.

 

[Stez64]

Except that they won’t “say no”; they’ll shut Ibrox for a game or eject us from theirs competitions. That’s how we’ll get our “no”. That’s the next step in the process for what they view as recidivism.

Still think it’s worth a try? Personally, I don’t really want to gamble with the club’s future like that.

I'm talking about a proper campaign to get this sorted, not just a whim . I'm not saying , change the words and belt them out , with a hope we will get away with it , I'm talking about supporters with a bit of clout , getting this done through proper channels and giving UEFA their place by telling them exactly what we are doing .
If it doesn't work, then at least we tried.

 

[Coop1872]

Rangers FC asked whether either of these experts had any connection with a football club which included unveiling statues or contributing to books or debates focusing on one particular football club or set of supporters.

The club were well stitched up and obviously had their suspicions as to the identity of the unnamed experts. Who were they refering to here?

 

[deedle]

Rangers FC asked whether either of these experts had any connection with a football club which included unveiling statues or contributing to books or debates focusing on one particular football club or set of supporters.

The club were well stitched up and obviously had their suspicions as to the identity of the unnamed experts. Who were they refering to here?

Strong likelihood that Joe Bradley was involved.

See later post.

 

[deedle]

Might add that the role of 'academics' points to a campaign orchestrated within Scotland to damage Rangers.

In my view, this was accomplished by people effectively working on behalf of McConnell.

 

[Southernlion]

Strong likelihood that Joe Bradley was involved.

The style of writing of the representation is very similar

 

[baselbear]

the definition on Wikipedia is as follows.for what a 19th Century Terrorist is: they are not a race, they do not belong exclusively to a religion as i am damn sure that i could be one, a muslim could be one, a jew could be one.....

member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a 19th-century revolutionary nationalist organization among the Irish in the US and Ireland. The 19th Century Terrorists staged an unsuccessful revolt in Ireland in 1867 and were responsible for isolated revolutionary acts against the British until the early 20th century, when they were gradually eclipsed by the IRA.

Why the %^*& are you listing this? As if it made the slightest bit of difference.

We as a club are not going to go to Uefa to say 'ra boys wan to sing about slashing Fenyins. They're no Kafflicks by the way',

 

[jimbear]

A goal! A goal!
We’re ready to acclaim,
A goal! A goal!
To win another game,
We’re followers of Rangers,
Our hearts are strong and true,
We are the people who cheer the boys in blue.

My recollection is that these are the original words

Those are the words that were sung on the famous LP of Rangers songs that was produced in the late 1960's. I've still got the LP. The 'original' words to TBB are those which many of us have heard so many times from supporters. It was a gang song which was originally sung by the gang's members from the 1920's onwards. As a song it only started to become widely sung by our supporters from the early years of the 1980's. It was never a popular song on its own with our supporters back in my younger days and you would only hear it occasionally when stuck on at the end of "There's not a team like the Glasgow Rangers". It was never a 'go to' song four our supporters prior to the 1980's.

 

[laudofan]

The support took heed that TFS was taboo and dropped it. They then used the same tune for 4 lads.

We are clearly being victimised over this and I'm sure if it was widely publicised that if we had a chance to create a completely new song with the same outstanding noise that TBB created, then the fans would grab it in an instant , whilst binning TBB at the same time .
It's time to fight back at the haters and get this done .
Someone with a bit of clout, @Papasmurf and the guys who rid us of the vermin from The Broomy.
This can be done, and if we do create a new song and UEFA still say "No" , then at least we tried .

I agree. A tune can't be banned surely. The precedent is there with "Four Lads". The Germans also revamped their national anthem using only positive lyrics and it's one of the best.

"Hello Hello" is a great chant and if "We are the Rangers boys" is used in a new football-only lyric then who could take exception to that.

I think if the club and fans display a willingness to be proactive then UEFA could well be favourable to that.

 

[huistra23]

Don’t be ridiculous. UEFA can’t ban the song they can only ban the words that are offensive

We could whistle the tune,but Speirs would report us,as he said before,aye but we know what you're thinking.

 

[Southernlion]

Those are the words that were sung on the famous LP of Rangers songs that was produced in the late 1960's. I've still got the LP. The 'original' words to TBB are those which many of us have heard so many times from supporters. It was a gang song which was originally sung by the gang's members from the 1920's onwards. As a song it only started to become widely sung by our supporters from the early years of the 1980's. It was never a popular song on its own with our supporters back in my younger days and you would only hear it occasionally when stuck on at the end of "There's not a team like the Glasgow Rangers". It was never a 'go to' song four our supporters prior to the 1980's.

I don't know where you got your information from but it is almost complete bollocks.

From personal experience I know that it was sung quite generally some 20 years earlier, The original lyrics I learned were " ...we are the good King Billy's boys".
So far as I am able to ascertain it probably stems from late 19th century but I am still trying to tie that down.