Sweet Caroline Tradition

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

On opening night of the 2010 season at Fenway Park, the song was performed live by Diamond himself. Several days after the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013, Neil Diamond led the crowd at Fenway Park in a rendition of the song. The New York Yankees showed their support for the city by playing the song over Yankee Stadium's loudspeakers the day after the incident. Sales of the song surged nearly 600 percent in the week after the bombings, to 19,000 copies, up from 2,800 the week before. Diamond said that he would donate his royalties from those sales to the One Fund Boston charity to help the people affected by the bombings.

In Their Own Story

As the game enters the middle of the eighth inning, the familiar opening chords cut through the noise of Fenway Park. The crowd knows exactly what is coming. Voices rise in unison to shout "Sweet Caroline," followed by a chorus so loud it drowns out the field action. In April 2013, just days after the Boston Marathon bombing, this moment transformed from a standard ritual into a profound act of solidarity when Neil Diamond led the crowd in a live rendition. The emotional weight was felt not just in Boston but across rival lines; the New York Yankees played the song over their loudspeakers to show support for the city. That week alone, sales of "Sweet Caroline" jumped from 2,800 copies to 19,000, a nearly 600 percent surge that reflected the nation's unity.

Reader's Guide

The song is played in the middle of the eighth inning at every Red Sox home game at Fenway Park, a tradition that has been in place since 2002.

Did You Know?

• The song was written and performed by Neil Diamond and released as a single on May 28, 1969.
• It reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1969.
• In 2019, the song was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.