For over three decades, Pittsburgh native Roger Wood has been creating a refreshed version of the Steelers’ anthem “Here We Go,” a song that has become synonymous with the team’s playoff runs.”It’s the soundtrack of a playoff run in Pittsburgh – catchy, familiar, and re-written just enough to feel brand new,” Wood said. He begins working on the song when he’s confident the Steelers will make the playoffs. “What happened this year—it was right before the Cleveland game,” he said.Wood waits until the moment is right because the lyrics must match the current season. “The one line was ‘Aaron Rodgers is ready to win with Gainwell, Metcalf and Washington.’ But Washington broke his arm in the Cleveland game, so I had to think of another rhyme,” he explained. Thankfully, he found a solution, and the Steelers’ victory over the Ravens allowed the song to continue.Wood and his son, music producer Ryan Wood, completed this year’s version in their Cheswick studio the following day. Ryan pushed his father for several takes until it was “playoff ready.” “My voice… you don’t realize you’re not warmed up – you don’t sing all year. So it took a little longer to get it. And my son Ryan, who’s producing and recording everything, he’s like, ‘Well you gotta do a little better than that’… we get a couple dozen of them… I finally got it, you know?” Wood said.The song’s enduring appeal lies in its catchy nature and dynamic build-up. The origin of the song is as Pittsburgh as it gets. Wood wrote it in just 20 minutes. “I was at a piano. And I got the bassline. And the melody just popped in my head… the ‘duh duh duh duh.’ It felt like someone was telling me what to do. Then I put the words to it. And yeah, that was it,” he said.Now, as the playoffs approach, so does the song, blasting in the Strip District, in stores, and on repeat in cars across the region.
PITTSBURGH —
For over three decades, Pittsburgh native Roger Wood has been creating a refreshed version of the Steelers’ anthem “Here We Go,” a song that has become synonymous with the team’s playoff runs.
“It’s the soundtrack of a playoff run in Pittsburgh – catchy, familiar, and re-written just enough to feel brand new,” Wood said. He begins working on the song when he’s confident the Steelers will make the playoffs. “What happened this year—it was right before the Cleveland game,” he said.
Wood waits until the moment is right because the lyrics must match the current season.
“The one line was ‘Aaron Rodgers is ready to win with Gainwell, Metcalf and Washington.’ But Washington broke his arm in the Cleveland game, so I had to think of another rhyme,” he explained.
Thankfully, he found a solution, and the Steelers’ victory over the Ravens allowed the song to continue.
Wood and his son, music producer Ryan Wood, completed this year’s version in their Cheswick studio the following day.
Ryan pushed his father for several takes until it was “playoff ready.”
“My voice… you don’t realize you’re not warmed up – you don’t sing all year. So it took a little longer to get it. And my son Ryan, who’s producing and recording everything, he’s like, ‘Well you gotta do a little better than that’… we get a couple dozen of them… I finally got it, you know?” Wood said.
The song’s enduring appeal lies in its catchy nature and dynamic build-up.
The origin of the song is as Pittsburgh as it gets. Wood wrote it in just 20 minutes.
“I was at a piano. And I got the bassline. And the melody just popped in my head… the ‘duh duh duh duh.’ It felt like someone was telling me what to do. Then I put the words to it. And yeah, that was it,” he said.
Now, as the playoffs approach, so does the song, blasting in the Strip District, in stores, and on repeat in cars across the region.