"Three Lions" was the official anthem of the England football team for the 1996 European Championships, held that year in England. The music was written by The Lightning Seeds, with comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner providing the lyrics. The song was a much bigger success than most football songs, and was said to capture the Zeitgeist perfectly. The title comes from the emblem of the England football team, which is in turn derived from the Coat of Arms of England. A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... David Baddiel (born May 28, 1964, Troy, New York, USA) is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter. ... Christopher Graham Collins, aka Frank Skinner (born 28 January 1957 is an English writer and comedian. ... The Lightning Seeds are an alternative pop band, largely the brainchild of writer, singer and guitarist Ian Broudie (born August 4, 1958, Liverpool, England). ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (137th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... A CD single is a music single in the form of a compact disc. ... In music, a single is a short (usually ten minutes or less) record, usually featuring one or two tracks as A-sides, often accompanied by several B-sides—usually remixes or other songs. ... Insert from the Winter cassette single by Tori Amos The cassette single was a music recording format that debuted in the 80s. ... DualDisc is a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Epic Records is an American record label, and subsidiary of Sony BMG. // Epic was launched originally as a jazz and classical music label in 1953 by CBS. Its bright-yellow, black and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. ... BMG (Bertelsmann Music Group) is one of the six divisions of Bertelsmann. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Ian Broudie (born August 4, 1958 in Liverpool, England) is a prolific musician and producer, best known for his 1990s band the Lightning Seeds. ... David Baddiel (born May 28, 1964, Troy, New York, USA) is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter. ... Christopher Graham Collins, aka Frank Skinner (born 28 January 1957 is an English writer and comedian. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Ian Broudie (born August 4, 1958 in Liverpool, England) is a prolific musician and producer, best known for his 1990s band the Lightning Seeds. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. ... First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The 1996 European Football Championship (or simply Euro 96) was hosted by England. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... The Lightning Seeds is a band which essentially consists of one person - writer, singer and guitarist Ian Broudie (born August 4, 1958, Liverpool). ... David Baddiel (born May 28, 1964, Troy, New York, USA) is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter. ... Christopher Graham Collins, aka Frank Skinner (born 28 January 1957 is an English writer and comedian. ... Look up Zeitgeist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... First International Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Largest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Northern Ireland; 18 February 1882) Worst defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 11 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First... The Coat of Arms of England The Coat of Arms of England is gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or armed & langued azure The Coat of Arms was introduced by King Richard I of England in the 1190s, apparently as a version of the arms of the Duchy of...

Themes

The lyrics, unlike most football songs, spoke not of unbounded optimism for victory - but instead told of how, ever since 1966 and the one unequivocal success of the English football team, every tournament has ended in dashed hopes and the feeling that England will never again reach those heights ("Three Lions on a shirt, Jules Rimet still gleaming / Thirty years of hurt, never stopped me dreaming"). The song's intro included samples of pessimism from football commentators Alan Hansen ("I think it's bad news for the English game"), Trevor Brooking ("We're not creative enough; we're not positive enough"), and Jimmy Hill ("We'll go on getting bad results"). Qualifying countries 1966 was a year of triumph for the host nation, England, which won the final beating West Germany 4-2. ... The Jules Rimet trophy was the original physical manifestation of the prize for winning the football world cup, a small gold cup representing the hopes and ambitions of every footballing nation on earth. ... Alan David Hansen (born Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, June 13, 1955) is a television football pundit and a former football player. ... Sir Trevor David Brooking, CBE (born 1948 in Barking) is a football player turned manager, pundit and administrator. ... Jimmy Hill Jimmy Hill OBE (born July 22, 1928 in Balham, London) is an English football personality. ...

Despite the failures of the past, each tournament is greeted with fresh hopes that this might be the year they do it again, and the song's exuberant chorus proclaimed that "It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming, football's coming home" (derived from the tournament's slogan, 'Football comes home').

The song makes reference to English heroes of the past, specifically Bobby Moore, Gary Lineker, Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles. According to Frank Skinner's autobiography, the original lyrics submitted to the FA included the line "Butcher ready for war", in reference to the player's notorious heroic performance in a qualifying game against Sweden. The FA requested this was changed, so as to avoid hooliganism imagery, and the "Bobby belting the ball" was written as a replacement. The "ready for war" motif was later used in the 1998 version of the song (see below), attributed to Paul Ince. Robert Frederick Chelsea Bobby Moore, OBE (born Barking, England, April 12, 1941 - died London, February 24, 1993) was an English footballer. ... Gary Winston Lineker, OBE (born 30 November 1960 in Leicester) is a former English international football striker who scored ten goals in two World Cups for the England national team and is currently a sports broadcaster for the BBC. He is also known for appearing in adverts for the Walkers... Sir Robert Bobby Charlton, CBE (born 11 October 1937 in Ashington, Northumberland) is a former English professional football player who won the World Cup and was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1966. ... Norbert Nobby Peter Stiles MBE (born Collyhurst, Manchester, 18 May 1942) was the toothless midfield ballwinner of Englands 1966 World Cup winning side. ... The Football Association (The FA) is the governing body of football in England (and the Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man). ... In Englands white, RÃ¥sunda Stadium 1989 Terence Ian (Terry) Butcher (born December 28, 1958 in Singapore) is the current manager of Motherwell and former professional footballer who made his name as an uncompromising defender with Ipswich Town, Rangers and England in the 1980s. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

The commentary of the end of the song contrasts that of the song's opening with positive lines which suggest that England could win a major football championship:

• "England have done it in the last minute of extra time!"
• "What a save! Gordon Banks!"
• "Good old England, England that couldn't play football"
• "England have got it in the bag"

The single featured a karaoke version as a second track. A Karaoke machine Karaoke 空 kara, empty or void, and オーケストラ ōkesutora, orchestra) pronounced [kärÄ•-ōkÄ•];   is a form of entertainment in which an amateur singer or singers sing along with recorded music on microphone. ...

The crowd noise in the intro of the track is in fact from a Liverpool game versus Brondby at Anfield.

Success

The Britpop phenomenon was at its peak in 1996, and the Lightning Seeds were one of its leading lights, so their involvement gave the song very wide appeal. It stormed to number one in the singles chart, and as England progressed to the semi-finals, stadia around the country echoed to the sound of fans singing the song after English victories over Scotland, The Netherlands and Spain. It was so popular, in fact, that even other teams loved it. England faced Germany in the semi-finals, and Jürgen Klinsmann said later that the Germans were singing the song themselves on the way to the stadium, and the German team and the crowd sang the song as they paraded the trophy on a balcony above a square in Frankfurt. Britpop was a British alternative rock genre and movement that was at its most popular in Great Britain in the mid 1990s. ... The Lightning Seeds are an alternative pop band, largely the brainchild of writer, singer and guitarist Ian Broudie (born August 4, 1958, Liverpool, England). ... First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Scotland 11 - 0 Ireland (Glasgow, Scotland; 23 February 1901) Biggest defeat Uruguay 7 - 0 Scotland (Basel, Switzerland; 19 June 1954) World Cup Appearances 8 (First in 1954) Best result Round 1, all European Championship Appearances 2 (First... First international Belgium 1 - 4 Netherlands (Antwerp, Belgium; 30 April 1905) Biggest win Netherlands 9 - 0 Norway (Rotterdam, Netherlands; 1 November 1972) Biggest defeat Netherlands 2 - 12 England Amateur (The Hague, Netherlands; 1 April 1907) World Cup Appearances 8 (First in 1934) Best result Runners-up, 1974 and 1978 European... Jürgen Klinsmann (born July 30, 1964 in Göppingen) is a German football manager and former football player, who played for several prominent clubs in Europe and for the West German national team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup. ...

The single as a result even made #16 in the German singles chart.

To this day, the original version of the song still receives regular airplay in England around the time of a major football tournament. It has been adopted as a terrace chant and is commonly sang by fans at England international matches today. A terrace chant is usually associated with football. ...

Three Lions '98

The hopes of a nation were once again dashed in 1996 when England lost agonisingly in a penalty shootout against Germany - and so the song's lyrics rang true once again. It was subsequently re-recorded with different lyrics (under the title '"Three Lions '98") as an unofficial anthem for England's World Cup campaign in 1998 and landed the number one spot in the singles chart for a second time, comprehensively beating the official England song, sung by the Spice Girls, to the top spot. Penalty shootouts (officially referred to as kicks from the penalty mark) are a method sometimes used to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament (or wins the tournament) following a draw in a game of association football. ... The FIFA World Cup Trophy, which has been awarded to the world champions since 1974. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... The Spice Girls were a BRIT Award-winning English all-female pop group. ...

Where the 1996 song mentioned various memorable moments from the previous 30 years, the 1998 version made more specific reference to events from the preceding two years (including Euro '96), and sang about a number of the then-current players, specifically Paul Ince, Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer and Stuart Pearce. Ironically, Shearer was ruled out of the crucial qualification match against Italy due to injury, Ince missed during the Penalty shoot-out against Argentina, and neither Gascoigne or Pearce were selected for England's World Cup squad, which wasn't announced until some time after the song had been recorded. Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (born 21 October 1967 in Ilford, London) is a football player who won numerous honours with Manchester United and became the first black player to captain the England team[1]. His career saw him play for six English clubs and Italian side, Inter Milan. ... Paul John Gascoigne (born 27 May 1967 in Gateshead, England), often referred to by his nickname Gazza, is a former English football player. ... Alan Shearer OBE (born 13 August 1970 in Gosforth, Tyne and Wear) is an English former professional footballer who played for the English national team and three English Premiership clubs: Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. ... Stuart Pearce MBE (born April 24, 1962 in Hammersmith, London) is an English football coach, and manager of Manchester City and the England Under 21s, having been appointed as permanent manager of the former after a period as caretaker following the retirement of Kevin Keegan. ...

As well as a karoake version of the new song, the single featured a fully-fledged b-side: a song called Tout est Possible (French for "Anything is Possible"). The song was largely composed of a recurring chorus, samples from commentators and pundits, and the occasional short verse.

Controversy

The video to the 1998 version of the song portrays a match between a group of English fans (including Baddiel, Skinner and Lightning Seeds' singer Ian Broudie) and their German equivalents, most of whom have the name "KUNTZ" printed on the back of their football shirts (except for one, who instead has "KLINSMANN"). This was a reference to German player Stefan Kuntz, who had been mocked on Baddiel and Skinner's Fantasy Football television programme and who had previously played an instrumental part in Germany's semi-final victory over England at Wembley in 1996, but caused controversy due to its obvious innuendo, and the segment was often cut by broadcasters. The video also featured cameo appearances from Geoff Hurst, John Regis, Robbie Williams and Chris Evans. Stefan Kuntz (born 30 October 1962 in Neunkirchen, Saarland) is a former German professional footballer and is currently a coach. ... Look up Innuendo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Martin Scorsese appears briefly in an uncredited role in this scene from his feature film Taxi Driver. ... Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst, MBE (born December 8, 1941 in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire) is a footballer enshrined in the games history as the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. ... Saint John Regis (date unknown) John Regis (31 January 1597 – 30 December 1640) was a French preacher. ... Robbie Williams (born Robert Peter Williams on February 13, 1974) is a Grammy Award-nominated, fifteen time BRIT Award-winning English singer/songwriter. ... Chris Evans (born April 1, 1966, in Warrington, England) is an English celebrity. ...

Other Versions

• Three Lions '98 was re-released for the World Cup in 2002, and again on June 5, 2006 for the World Cup 2006 in Germany. It charted at #9 in the UK Singles Chart in 2006.
• The 2006 rerelease was a DualDisc version with both the original version of Three Lions and Three Lions '98 on the CD side and the music videos for the two songs on the DVD side.
• A Dutch band called "Hermes House Band" made a cover version which is called "Eagles on the shirt" or "Heroes in the shirts"
• A German comedy duo called "Mundstuhl" made a German cover version with the title "Adler auf der Brust" (The Eagle on the Chest) which became the official hymn for the football club Eintracht Frankfurt.
• A German group of musicians called themself "Die Original Deutschmacher" made a cover version with the title "Das W auf dem Trikot" (The W on the shirt) which became the most popular song of the supporters of the football club Werder Bremen.

For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Qualifying countries The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th staging of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international association football world championship tournament. ... The UK Singles Chart is currently compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry. ... DualDisc is a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its football team. ... Werder Bremen is a German football club playing in Bremen in the northwest German federal state of the same name. ...

See also

• England national football team
• Coat of Arms of England
• Origins of the Three Lions emblem

First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... The Coat of Arms of England The Coat of Arms of England is gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or armed & langued azure The Coat of Arms was introduced by King Richard I of England in the 1190s, apparently as a version of the arms of the Duchy of... // Categories: | ...

External links

• Lyrics to both versions of the song
• Three Lions sung by a crowd of England Supporters during the European Championships in Portugal 2004