Phillies’ playoff anthem ‘Dancing On My Own’ is the perfect hoagie mouth song

If you don’t know what a “hoagie mouth” is, it’s another way of referring to a heavy Philly or Delco accent — or some combination of the two.

Phillies designated hitter Bryce Harper gets doused with champagne and beer from teammate Kyle Schwarber after the Phillies clinched an NLDS berth earlier this month.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Matt Mullin

Updated Oct. 21, 2022, 2:57 p.m. ET

Published Oct. 21, 2022, 2:54 p.m. ET

Here’s a subplot to the Phillies’ postseason run that you likely weren’t expecting: the team’s playoff anthem, Calum Scott and Tiesto’s “Dancing On My Own” remix, isn’t just perfect for the team, it’s also the perfect hoagie mouth song.

If you don’t know what a “hoagie mouth” is, it’s another way of referring to a heavy Philly or Delco accent — or some combination of the two. Remember Evan Peter’s character from Mare of Easttown? Total hoagie mouth.

They’re everywhere too. The nurse at your doctor’s office? Hoagie mouth. The cop who pulled you over last week? Hoagie mouth. The lawyer you hired to get you out of that ticket? Probably a hoagie mouth. And you know the guy working behind the counter at your favorite deli? Literal hoagie mouth — but also probably a figurative one as well.

And if you don’t know any hoagie mouths, may I simply suggest looking in the mirror — or listening to a recording of yourself. We’re all guilty, at least some of the time.

Recently, I’d been listening to the stripped down Scott version — sorry, Robyn, who actually performed the original version — rather than the Tiesto remix an unhealthy amount during this Phillies’ playoff run, and so it was no surprise when “Dancing on my Own” suddenly came on Spotify.

I was singing along — one does not simply listen to this song — and before I knew it, on those last two lines of the chorus — “And I’m giving it my all, but I’m not the guy you’re taking home / Oh, I keep dancing on my own” — my hoagie mouth really came out and I suddenly realized that not only was this the perfect song for the team, but for the city and its ultra-specific dialect.

If that doesn’t do it for you, let’s break it down phonetically...

And um givin’ it my awl, but um not da guy you’re takin’ hooaam / Oooh-OOOH-oooh, I keep daaayncin’ awn my ooaaan

Are you starting to hear it? Or do you actually need to hear it?

(Think you can do better? Reply to this tweet with your own take on it and we’ll embed it here.)

Now imagine 45,000 hoagie mouthed Phillies fans belting that out at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night. And again on Saturday. And Sunday. Glorious.