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"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. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... 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, U.S.) is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter. ... For other persons named Frank Skinner, see Frank Skinner (disambiguation). ... Lightning Seeds are an alternative pop/rock band, largely the brainchild of writer, singer and guitarist Ian Broudie (born August 4, 1958, Liverpool, England). ... is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 159th day of the year (160th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 154th day of the year (155th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 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. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Epic Records is an American record label, owned and operated by 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, U.S.) is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter. ... For other persons named Frank Skinner, see Frank Skinner (disambiguation). ... 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. ... 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... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The 1996 European Football Championship (or simply Euro 96) was hosted by England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... David Baddiel (born May 28, 1964, Troy, New York, U.S.) is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter. ... For other persons named Frank Skinner, see Frank Skinner (disambiguation). ... This article is about the German word. ... 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"). 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. ...

The song's intro included samples of pessimism from football commentators:

• "I think it's bad news for the English game" (Alan Hansen)
• "We're not creative enough; we're not positive enough" (Trevor Brooking)
• "We'll go on getting bad results" (Jimmy Hill)

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', which in turn referred to the invention of the modern game in England). Alan David Hansen (born Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, June 13, 1955) is a BBC television expert football pundit and a former football player. ... Sir Trevor David Brooking CBE (born 2 October 1948 in Barking) is a football player turned manager, pundit and administrator. ... This page is about the English footballer and television personality. ...

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 Terry Butcher'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, 12 April 1941 - died London, 24 February 1993) was an English footballer. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Gary Lineker Gary Winston[1] 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... 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) is an English former football midfielder. ... 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. ... Terence Ian Terry Butcher (born 28 December 1958 in Singapore) is an English football manager who is currently manager of Brentford having been appointed on 24 April 2007[1]. Also formerly a professional player, he made his name as an uncompromising defender with Ipswich Town and Rangers in the 1980s. ... Hooligan redirects here. ...

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!" (John Motson)
• "What a save! Gordon Banks!"
• "Good old England, England that couldn't play football"
• "England have got it in the bag"

The crowd noise in the intro of the track is in fact Brøndby fans which was recorded by Ian Broudie at Anfield during a UEFA Cup tie in October 1995. John Walker Motson OBE (born 10 July 1945, Salford, Lancashire), known as Motty, is an English football commentator. ... Brøndby IF is a Danish professional football (soccer) club based in the town of Brøndby, on the western outskirts of Copenhagen. ... This article is about the football stadium. ... For the current season, see UEFA Cup 2007-08. ...

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 the Römer balcony in Frankfurt. Britpop was a mid-1990s British alternative rock genre and movement. ... Lightning Seeds are an alternative pop/rock 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 Finland (Solna, Sweden; 4 July 1912) Netherlands 9 - 0 Norway (Rotterdam, Netherlands; 1 November 1972) Biggest defeat England Amateur 12 - 2 Netherlands (Darlington, England; 21 December 1907) World Cup Appearances 8 (First in 1934... 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 was part of the German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup. ... The Römers famous eastern façade The Römer, which means Roman, has been the city hall or Rathaus of Frankfurt am Main for 600 years and the middle-age building is one of the citys most important landmarks. ...

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 sung by fans at England international matches today. When it was sung by England fans at the 2006 World Cup after England took the lead against Paraguay, commentator John Motson remarked, "As football songs go, Three Lions is certainly the best". A terrace chant is usually associated with football. ... The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th staging of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international association football world championship tournament. ...

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, beating the official England song "How does it feel ?? (to be on top of the world)" by England United to the top spot by eight places. The official song was also beaten by Fat Les's "Vindaloo" to the top spot at #2, another unofficial anthem. This resulted in the official song being hugely ignored and fading into obscurity very quickly, despite a cameo from the Spice Girls in the music video, and backing vocals on the song itself. Penalty shootouts, officially named 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 football. ... The FIFA World Cup Trophy, which has been awarded to the world champions since 1974. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Fat Les is a British band consisting of Alex James, the bassist from Blur; actor Keith Allen; and artist Damien Hirst. ... Vindaloo was a single from 1998, recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup by Fat Les. ... 2002 Lincoln cent, obverse, proof with cameo Cameo is a method of carving, or an item of jewelry made in this manner. ... The Spice Girls are a girl pop group formed in 1994, consisting of Geri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton and Melanie Chisholm. ...

The failure of that single was seen as more damning due to Ian McCulloch from Echo and the Bunnymen (who, even more ironically, had previously worked with Ian Broudie as a producer) on lead vocals, while the band were rediscovering the record sales of their 80's heyday, and members of Ocean Colour Scene on instruments when the band were in their peak of popularity at the time. During a friendly match against Portugal, the crowd were singing "Three Lions" in an attempt to mock the official song, which was given a very negative response by the English public. It only spent 3 weeks on the UK top 40. Ian McCulloch (born Ian Stephen McCulloch on 5 May 1959, in Liverpool) is an English singer best known for his work with Echo & the Bunnymen. ... Echo & the Bunnymen is a British rock group formed in Liverpool in 1978. ... Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are an English rock band from Birmingham. ... The UK Singles Chart is compiled by the Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the music industry. ...

Where the 1996 "Three Lions" 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, as in the lyric "Gazza as good as before". This was cruely mocked by Southern FM's breakfast show presenters "Danny and Nicky", by going "doh!" (a reference to Homer Simpson's annoyed grunt) in unison when the new version was played for the first time on their station, while the lyric was sung. 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. ... Paul John Gascoigne (born 27 May 1967 in Dunston, England), often referred to as Gazza, is a retired English football player who is widely regarded as one of the most gifted footballers of his generation. ... Alan Shearer, OBE (born 13 August 1970 in Gosforth) is a retired professional English footballer who played as a striker for the England national team and Premiership clubs, Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. ... Stuart Pearce MBE (born April 24, 1962 in Hammersmith, London) is an English football coach, currently the manager of the England Under 21s. ... Southern FM Categories: Station stubs | UK Radio Stations ... Homer Simpson is also a character in the book and film The Day of the Locust. ...

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. It also started with a French speech sample referring to "Le Coupe d'Monde" (The World Cup).

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. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A cameo role or cameo appearance (often shortened to just cameo) is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television. ... 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. ... John Regis (born October 13, 1966 in Lewisham) is a retired English athlete who mainly competed in the 200 metres. ... For other people with the same name, see Robbie Williams (disambiguation). ... Chris Evans (born April 1, 1966, in Warrington, England) is an English celebrity. ...

The scene from the video when Frank Skinner dips a ball into custard and pretends it's a world cup trophy, was shown on German TV station ARD 1 a few days before the final was to be played. The principal German public national TV channel. ...

Track Listings

Original 1996 CD Single

1. "Three Lions" - 3:44
2. "Three Lions (Jules Rimet Extend Mix)" - 6:14
3. "Three Lions (Karaoke Version)" - 3:45

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 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.
• A German comedy duo called "Mundstuhl" made a German cover version with the title "Adler auf der Brust" (The Eagle on the Chest) for the football club Eintracht Frankfurt.
• Rangers Football Club supporters also have this version: "The League Flag's Coming Home" Though they are equally comfortable singing pro England songs, unlike Celtic supporters who are only to willing to indulge in vile pro-IRA chants.

Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 World Cup redirects here. ... “British Hit Singles” redirects here. ... 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. ... The Hermes House Band (HHB) is an in 1982 established band of the student society Hermes in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. ... Werder Bremen is a German football club playing in Bremen in the northwest German federal state of the same name. ... Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its football team. ...

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