# Sweet Caroline & Boston? Why?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-caroline-boston-why/656005>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 18, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-caroline-boston-why/656005 "2013-04-18T03:10:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-caroline-boston-why/656005/1 "2013-04-18T03:10:46Z")

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I don’t get the connection between “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond and the Boston tragedy. Why are they (the media and those in various PR roles) considering this an anthem for the tragedy? From what I heard, none of the three victims were named Caroline. So, what am I missing? P.S. Neil Diamond is not from Boston, so no connection there either.

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-caroline-boston-why/656005/2 "2013-04-18T03:13:20Z")

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[Read this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=688367)

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-caroline-boston-why/656005/3 "2013-04-18T05:38:05Z")

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Thanks. I DID do a search, but it found nothing. Also, the news suggested the song had ties to the recent bombings…so this did not help me understand. Thanks for explaining!

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**Author:** ![chicagowhitesox1173](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@chicagowhitesox1173](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicagowhitesox1173)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-caroline-boston-why/656005/4 "2013-04-18T05:45:35Z")

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The song is about Caroline Kennedey but there’s alot of storys on why the Redsox started using it as a anthem. I think a big part on why it’s stayed popular is because the Kennedeys are from Boston.

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-caroline-boston-why/656005/5 "2013-04-18T11:00:38Z")

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It’s played in the eighth inning in Fenway, it’s a group participation thing, and that’s pretty much all there is to it. It’s all mentioned in the other thread.

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**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-caroline-boston-why/656005/6 "2013-04-18T13:17:06Z")

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Any more discussion on the topic can go in that thread.