Why Sweet Caroline Is A Boston Anthem

Anyone who has ever sat through to the eighth inning of a Red Sox game at Fenway Park knows what’s coming. Halfway through the inning, Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” bursts from the historic ballpark’s speakers, and the crowd begins to sing – a giant sing-along with 38,000 people. It’s an experience that no one should miss out on, and it has truly become a Boston tradition.

Why “Sweet Caroline”?

Those new to Boston may reasonably ask, “why ‘Sweet Caroline’?” Even true Bostonians may wonder, “why the 1969 mid-tempo Neil Diamond song?” Well, let it be known that anthems aren’t always chosen. Sometimes, they just happen, and Fenway Park’s sing-along anthem did just that. It happened.

In 1997, an employee at Fenway Park, Amy Tobey, who was in charge of music at the ballpark, decided to play the song “Sweet Caroline.” Why? Because she knew someone who just had a baby named Caroline. While the crowd enjoyed it that day, it didn’t instantly become an anthem. For the next few years, the ballpark only played the songs on random occasions.

A tradition is born

Once “Sweet Caroline” started playing on a nightly basis, it began to take off. The crowd knew what to expect, and the festive song would brighten up spectators near the end of every baseball game. The song, however, gained more meaning soon after that. Later, in 2002, Caroline Kennedy attended a Red Sox game, and Steinberg asked her if the song was about her. She didn’t think so. However, five years later, Neil Diamond stated that his inspiration for the song was, indeed, a picture of her as a little girl next to her horse in the 1960s, shortly after her father, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was assassinated. At that point, the song became more significant, as a tribute to him, and then more important to the ballpark through a string of innocuous events.

It turns out that JFK’s grandfather threw a pitch before the first official baseball game at Fenway Park in April 1912, when the ballpark first opened. The Kennedy family was also from the Boston area – Brookline, Massachusetts – and here was a song inspired by JFK’s daughter being played at the same ballpark nightly. All the pieces fit together, and a meaningful tradition was born.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

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