Pardon me for a second while I shed this thin veil of being too cool for everything. When it comes to World Cup-themed songs, they are mostly hokey and worth plenty of ridicule. They are meant to be rallying cries of some sort, tend to be a tad jingoistic if they are nation specific or simply make the product palpable to as large an audience as possible. They are the kind of songs you'd hear at a mainstream political rally, for the most part.
Wavin’ Flag was the best World Cup song ever, so please just stop
Not even officially the “official song” of the World Cup, K’naan’s tune and the equally unofficial video that accompanied it were simply perfect.
Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Somehow K’naan’s “Wavin Flag” avoids most of the bad parts, but still manages to be catchy without becoming annoying after repeated listens. Heading into the 2010 World Cup, I probably listened to this song a million times, watched this video a million more and still find myself emotionally moved by it. Yes, EMOTIONALLY MOVED BY IT! I get quite literal tears welling up in my eyes almost every time I watch this video. It’s really good.
What adds to the awesomeness of this video and song combination -- and it’s this version, not the many other versions that are floating around the Internet, that has a place in my heart -- is that there’s nothing actually “official” about it despite what the title tells you. The actually “official” songs of the 2010 World Cup are something by Shakira and another song by R. Kelly. Those songs are garbage, just like most World Cup songs. A version of “Wavin’ Flag” was chosen as Coca-Cola’s official song of the World Cup and subsequently used in versions of EA’s FIFA, but it’s a slightly different version than the one used in the video above.
Further adding to the awesomeness is that this is not even the official video for this song, best I can tell. There’s all this random footage that is not from World Cups, has some political footage that is a bit heavy for the masses and is a slightly remixed version of the song you’d hear on the radio.
But it’s perfect. The cuts are timed wonderfully. The footage they use balances with the words. I love it. Now watch it again.
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