Arirang and ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’: What BTS’ Folk Choice Teaches About Club Anthems

Hook: Why a folk song named by BTS matters to West Ham fans

If you’ve ever felt a shiver when thousands of voices hit the first line of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles, you know the power of a song to do more than entertain — it anchors identity. Yet many fans still struggle to find context for those moments: why this tune? where did it come from? how does it shape our club culture? BTS’ 2026 decision to name their comeback album Arirang lifts the veil on exactly how a traditional melody can carry generations of feeling. That revelation has direct lessons for fans of West Ham United and every club that relies on music to bind its community.

The headline: Arirang and Bubbles are the same kind of cultural glue

On 16 January 2026 BTS announced their new album as Arirang, a Korean folksong “associated with emotions of connection, distance, and reunion.” The choice is a reminder that songs born in communal life — work songs, lullabies, music-hall numbers — acquire emotional freight as they move through households, stadiums and nations. The same process turned a 1918 popular tune into West Ham’s anthem. Although the songs come from different worlds, they perform the same social work: they create shared memory, enforce belonging, and give language to longings that words alone cannot hold.

Why this matters to you, the West Ham fan

In a fragmented media landscape (live streams, snippets, social reels), fans often feel disconnected from the deeper histories of their rituals. Knowing why I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles is sung, and how it functions, gives each chorus more meaning — and helps fans preserve, adapt and pass the tradition forward with intention.

Arirang: a 21st-century reawakening of folk memory

Arirang is not just an old song; it’s a living multi-variant folk form that Koreans have used for centuries to express longing, separation and the hope of reunion. In 2026, BTS’ naming of their comeback album after Arirang sent a wave through global pop culture. Rolling Stone described the album as “deeply reflective,” highlighting that the title connects BTS’ modern identity with national and emotional roots.

“Drawing on the emotional depth of ‘Arirang’—its sense of yearning, longing, and the ebb and flow of separation and reunion,” the press release said. — Rolling Stone, Jan 2026

That kind of explicit reclamation is a trend in 2026: global superstars are leaning into roots and traditional music to navigate identity in a fragmented world. For fans, the moment is instructive — it shows how ancient motifs can gain fresh meaning when artists, communities and institutions actively recontextualize them.

I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles: from music-hall tune to east London emblem

I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles began life as a popular song in the early 20th century and was widely performed across music halls and theaters. By the 1920s it became associated with West Ham United, a process that blended chance, local culture and collective adoption rather than a single, tidy origin story. Over the decades it has become inseparable from the club’s identity: sung at cup runs, relegations, promotions and every ordinary matchday, it marks community continuity.

Like Arirang, Bubbles’ power lies in repetition: each chorus adds another layer of memory. For older generations the song connects to decades of East End life; for younger fans it’s the backdrop of first matches, digital clips and viral fandom moments. That multigenerational grip is a signature of any successful club anthem.

Note on history: origins are communal, not singular

Both songs’ histories show that cultural longevity often depends less on precise authorship and more on communal adoption. That doesn’t diminish provenance — it enriches it. Treating songs as living artifacts helps clubs and fans steward them responsibly while celebrating the mysteries in their pasts.

How songs forge identity: three social mechanics

When you map how Arirang and Bubbles function socially, three mechanisms emerge. Knowing these helps clubs, fan groups and matchday organisers harness anthems consciously.

1. Rhythms of memory: Repetition over time makes a melody shorthand for shared history. Every sung chorus layers new associations onto old ones.
2. Collective emotion: Songs channel feelings that are hard to name — longing, pride, defiant hope — turning individual sensations into public sentiment.
3. Participatory ritual: Singing requires participation. That active role cements belonging more than passive consumption like watching a clip.

Practical takeaways: how to steward an anthem in 2026

Whether you’re a branch leader, a club heritage officer, or a stadium sound tech, here are concrete steps to protect and amplify what songs do best.

For supporter groups

• Document oral histories — record fans recounting their first Bubbles moment. These oral archives are gold for future fans.
• Teach newcomers — host pre-match singing sessions in pubs or online, with lyric sheets and harmonies for different voice ranges.
• Respect variation — celebrate regional and generational differences in performance instead of policing a single ‘correct’ version.

For clubs and stadium teams

• Integrate anthems into official playlists — make high-quality recordings available on streaming platforms and club apps so new fans learn the tune cleanly.
• Work with audio engineers — design in-stadium soundscapes that support crowd singing (avoid music beds that drown out vocal participation).
• Use heritage storytelling — feature short documentary clips about the anthem in museum spaces, on social channels and matchday programmes.

For digital teams and marketers

• Create modular assets — lyric videos, instrumental stems, and fan-sourced covers can be remixed for reels and match promos.
• Enable UGC challenges — invite global fans to upload their rendition of Bubbles, connecting diaspora communities with the club.
• Protect cultural context — label historical claims clearly and avoid repackaging songs as purely commercial hooks without context.

Case study: what BTS’ Arirang choice teaches football clubs

BTS’ decision shows the reputational value of rooting global culture in traditional forms. For football clubs that can seem parochial in a global market, the lesson is twofold:

• Authenticity scales — when a band with billions of streams explores national folk material, it proves that authenticity is marketable internationally.
• Local stories travel — contextualized tradition invites global audiences to learn, which can broaden a club’s fanbase without diluting identity.

West Ham can emulate this by intentionally curating the Bubbles story: produce accessible explainers, high-quality recordings, and collaborative events that foreground the anthem’s emotional narrative rather than treating it as a background jingle.

Trends and predictions for 2026–2029

Music and fandom are changing fast. Here are trends to watch and ways clubs can prepare.

Trend 1: Roots-forward pop and the “folk mainstream”

Artists like BTS reclaiming folk forms will prompt more mainstream acts to surface local traditions. Clubs should anticipate renewed interest in anthem origins and be ready to supply high-quality context and assets.

Trend 2: Immersive sound tech in stadiums

Spatial audio and crowd-mic systems in 2026 are improving. The goal is not to replace the crowd but to amplify participatory singing. Clubs that calibrate sound to foreground fans — not just pre-recorded anthems — will preserve organic ritual.

Trend 3: AI tools for heritage and harmonies

AI can produce choir harmonizations, restorative audio cleans, and lyric translations. Use these tools as supplements — not substitutes — for live singing. Always credit and involve fans when using AI to remix fan-recorded performances.

Trend 4: Ethical commercialisation

From NFTs to exclusive anthem recordings, monetisation will grow. Clubs must balance revenue with stewardship: limited releases that fund community programs are preferable to paywalls that gate access to shared rituals.

Experience, expertise and trust: building a living archive

Experience matters. The most resilient anthem cultures actively collect their own histories. That means oral interviews, archiving matchday footage, and legal clarity on song rights. Expertise — ethnomusicologists, local historians, long-time supporters — help interpret data and guide respectful evolution. Trust comes from transparency: explain decisions around anthem usage, show how revenue supports community causes, and invite fans into governance.

Actionable checklist: start today

• Record three fan oral histories about Bubbles this season and publish them on your site.
• Host one pre-match community singalongs per month — rotate pubs and streaming times for global fans.
• Produce an official, high-quality instrumental stem and lyric sheet for educators and schools.
• Ensure stadium audio engineers have a ‘fan-first’ policy: test mixes with supporter groups present.
• Create a transparent micro-fund where anthem-related merch proceeds support local music education.

Final thoughts: why songs matter now more than ever

In 2026, cultural life is hypermobile and attention is atomised. That makes rituals like Arirang and I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles more valuable: they are anchors in an era of fragmentation. BTS’ Arirang is a reminder that people respond to rootedness. West Ham’s Bubbles is a local expression of that same human need. When fans and clubs treat these songs as living, shared heritage — not inert branding — they safeguard the emotional continuity that makes football fandom a life-long identity.

Call to action

Want to help preserve and evolve I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles? Join the conversation at westham.live: submit your first-Bubbles story, sign up for our oral-history project, or volunteer at our next pre-match singalong. Share a clip with #BubblesLives and we’ll feature standout recordings and patch them into our official fan playlist. Be part of how we keep the song alive — and make sure the next generation knows why those chords still stir us.

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