“Three Lions” by The Lightning Seeds
American football is considered, by a wide margin, to be the most-popular sport in the United States. Meanwhile, when was the last time you heard a hit song in honor of an NFL team? That is to say that European football (i.e. soccer), especially in countries like England, is extensively more popular – so much so that tunes like “Three Lions” can even top the UK Singles Chart, which isn’t a simple feat by the way, on numerous occasions.
And this is despite the fact that the tone of this song is a bit melancholic as opposed to being centered on the concept of inevitable victory, as such pieces tend to go.
Key Sentiment of “Three Lions”
Well actually, the main sentiment being expressed is in fact a ‘belief’ that “it’s coming home”. And said “it” would be the gold, i.e. England emerging as champions in a major international soccer competition, such as the quadrennial event known as the Euros (aka UEFA European Championship).
But let’s just say that whereas the sentiment may be there and the English national football team is perennially competitive, they haven’t been overly successful in the above regard. And such is actually the premise of what the vocalist is putting forth, that it’s been a while since England really represented.
And truth be told, he doesn’t really sound overly confident that they are going to secure the championship in the here and now. But he does acknowledge that the spirit as well as the talent is all there, as well as a rich team history, even if not necessarily ideal.
Song’s Title (“Three Lions”)
Meanwhile, as far as the title of the song goes, if you were to take a look at the emblem of the English national football team, you would see that there is in fact the image of three lions thereupon. This is a symbol that they have been utilizing in English football since the 19th century and is actually a shoutout to 12th century King Richard I. Moreover, it is the nickname of the team itself. So there you go as far as why they named the song so.
In Conclusion
So conclusively, it can perhaps be said that “Three Lions” is more of a song of optimism than it is a vision per se. The singer(s) knows that the possibility to fall short of supreme victory exists, since such is the standard of the team whom he is honoring.
But again, at least in his mind all of the prerequisites are there for them to achieve this goal. So now comes the encouragement part. And that is basically what the role of the most prominent expression of this piece, “it’s coming home”, is meant to serve.
Facts about “Three Lions”
There are actually three entities credited with the rendering of this song. Two of them, Frank Skinner and David Baddiel, are English comedians. And the third, Lightning Seeds, is a rock outfit who, like Skinner and Baddiel, come from the UK.
The music video to this track was directed by filmographer Pedro Romhanyi.
When this song first came out in 1996, it managed to reach the top spot on the UK Singles Chart. It did so again in 2018, when England performed well during the FIFA World Cup of that year. In fact the country did better in that World Cup than they had in about 30 years, thus causing the tune to go very much viral in the United Kingdom.
However, after they did in fact lose in the semifinals, the song fell from first place on the UK Singles Chart all the way down to 97th. And that marked the most-drastic drop from number one in a single week in the list’s history.
Considering that it is in fact a well-known football anthem and this is the British we’re talking about, “Three Lions” has regularly popped up on the UK Singles Chart throughout the past four decades actually. It even did so as recently as 2021, when it peaked at number four, in recognition of the UEFA Euro 2020.
“Three Lions ’98”
Unfortunately for fans of the English national football team, their squad failed to secure the gold of the UEFA Euro 1996, as this song had hoped. Therefore a subsequent version with revised lyrics was released in 1998 entitled 3 Lions ’98. That rendition, which was also held down by Lightning Seeds, Skinner and Baddiel, also topped the UK Singles Cart.
“Three Lions 2010”
There is also a “Three Lions 2010”. That time around it was by an entity known collectively as The Squad, which consisted of the following:
- Russell Brand
- Robbie Williams
- Ian Broudie
- David Baddiel
- Frank Skinner
That rendition also featured the direct input of Trevor Horn, a highly-respected and tenured British musician. However, it did not fare as well on the UK Singles Chart as did the others. But it was a heartfelt affair nonetheless, with singer Robbie Williams recalling that he “nearly cried” while rendering it.
More Facts
Interesting to note yet understandable is that the English Football Team themselves didn’t take too kindly to this song when they first heard it. But it was reportedly their midfielder, Paul “Gazza” Gascoigne, who first took a liking to it. And afterwards the rest of the squad embraced it also.
Of course a song like this is likely to feature quite a few shoutouts to professional football players, and so it is with “Three Lions”. For instance, the aforementioned “Gazza” is referenced in the second verse. So is one of his teammates at the time, striker Alan Shearer.
There is also a reference to another English national player of the 1990s, defender Stuart Pearce, who was also known as “Psycho” due to his tenacious play.
And in terms of the Jules Rimet mentioned in the chorus, that was the name of the World Cup trophy back in the day, i.e. when England had last won it back in 1966. And part of that squad was defensive midfielder Nobby Stiles (1942-2020), whose “dance” is namedropped in the bridge as a symbol of what can be considered England’s greatest football victory.
Who wrote “Three Lions”?
Ian Broudie, i.e. the frontman of The Lightning Seeds, is the one who is credited with writing it.
But according to Wikipedia, it is actually Baddiel and Skinner who wrote the lyrics to this piece, with Broudie composing the lyrics. Either way, it was Broudie whom the Football Association tasked with coming up with a song in support of England during the 1996 Euros. And Ian decided that he didn’t want to write a traditional football anthem but rather one more reflective of a common fan’s point of view. And that is why he enlisted Baddiel and Skinner, who at the time were hosting a television show entitled Fantasy Football League.
