Football's Coming Home

Lore & Background

The Football Association asked Ian Broudie to compose a song for the 1996 UEFA European Football Championship. He composed a melody he felt would make a good football chant and asked Frank Skinner and David Baddiel to write the lyric. Broudie declined the FA's offer to have football players sing, saying he did not want the song to be 'England-istic' or nationalistic. The original lyric included the line 'Butcher ready for war' (or 'Terry Butcher at war') referencing a 1989 World Cup qualifier, but the FA requested the line be changed to avoid suggestions of hooliganism imagery. The crowd noise in the intro is Brøndby fans recorded by Broudie at Anfield during a UEFA Cup tie in October 1995. The song references players from the 1966 World Cup winning team: Bobby Moore's tackle of Jairzinho, Gary Lineker's goal against West Germany, Bobby Charlton's goal against Mexico, and Nobby Stiles dancing with the Jules Rimet Trophy. The chorus lyric 'it's coming home' reflected that Euro 1996 was the first competition England had hosted since the 1966 World Cup. The song was re-recorded as '3 Lions '98' for England's 1998 World Cup campaign, beginning with stadium crowds singing the original chorus and sampling Jonathan Pearce's commentary of Gareth Southgate's penalty miss.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights hummed at a frequency you could feel in your molars. The score was level. The clock was in the ninetieth minute. And then someone — you never knew who — started it. A low, rolling murmur that climbed the concrete like smoke. 'Football's coming home…' and the whole stand caught it, eight thousand voices layering over each other, the bass note vibrating through the soles of your trainers. You were singing before you decided to sing. Your throat was tight. The sound was the thing. The sound was the homecoming. Then the whistle blew, the penalty kicks began, and the silence that fell over Wembley was the loudest thing you had ever heard.

Reader's Guide

The song has been described as the de facto 'anthem' of English football since 1996. Its chorus, with the refrain 'It's coming home', has become a popular chant for fans at England games. Both the original version and 'Three Lions '98' reached number one on the UK singles chart. The song regularly reappears in the UK singles chart around major football tournaments involving the England team. It reached number one again in 2018 following England reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first song in history to have four separate stints at number one in the UK. The song has sold 1.6 million copies in the UK as of June 2018.

Did You Know?

• The music video was directed by Pedro Romhanyi and features archival footage of the 1966 and later teams, including a cameo by Geoff Hurst.
• The song reached number 49 on the German Singles Chart after German fans sang it following their team's victory at Euro 96.
• The original lyric included 'Butcher ready for war' referencing Terry Butcher's bleeding head in a 1989 qualifier, but was changed at the FA's request.
• The song's chorus 'it's coming home' refers to the invention of the modern game in England and the fact that Euro 1996 was the first tournament England hosted since 1966.