Three Lions: England song lyrics, meaning & 'Football's Coming Home' anthem profile

The song that was first popularised in the mid-to-late nineties is now the anthem of choice for a new generation of England fans

'It's Coming Home' has become a slogan and call to arms for England fans this summer as Gareth Southgate's team look to end decades of disappointment by winning the World Cup in Russia.

The line was born over 20 years ago and has somehow managed to endure the ravages of numerous failed campaigns to come forth once more and give hope to a new generation of English football supporters.

The song from which it is derived is called 'Three Lions', which has been resurrected and continues to be sung with gusto by England fans across the world during Russia 2018.

With Southgate's men aiming to secure a second world title for their country, Goal takes a look at the terrace anthem, who wrote it and what it all means.

When was 'Three Lions' released?

The original 'Three Lions' single was released in May 1996 ahead of that summer's European Championship, which was being held in England.

It went straight to number one on the UK Singles Chart and enjoyed two weeks at the summit during the course of the tournament.

The single was the lead track on the official Euro '96 album 'The Beautiful Game', which also featured songs from Jamiroquai, Massive Attack and Blur, as well as a remixed version of New Order's classic 'World In Motion', which was the official England song for the 1990 World Cup.

An updated version of the song - which was called '3 Lions '98' was subsequently released in June 1998 in the run up to the 1998 World Cup.

Like its predecessor, the 1998 version was an instant hit, climbing to the top of the charts, where it remained for three weeks.

Who wrote 'Three Lions'?

Three Lions was the product of a collaboration between comedy duo Frank Skinner and David Baddiel and Ian Broudie's band The Lightning Seeds.

Baddiel and Skinner, who were the presenters of a television show 'Fantasy Football League' at the time, wrote the lyrics, with Broudie coming up with the melody and accompanying music.

Following the song's release, Skinner frankly explained its origins in an interview with the BBC: "Somebody phoned us up and asked us 'how would you like to do the official England single for the European Championships?' And obviously we said yes. We got very excited... and bingo!"

All three collaborators still retain a sense of pride regarding 'Three Lions' and, during the 2018 World Cup, as it made yet another comeback in tandem with the exploits of Southgate's side, they revelled in the connection between their song, the players and the fans.

Ahead of the knockout stage of the tournament, Skinner revealed that, having previously grown weary of the playing of their song at England games, he was becoming more accepting of it at Russia 2018.

"I went quite a while thinking 'oh God, they're playing Three Lions'," he explained on his radio show. "And this year - maybe it's age and the idea of impending doom - I've started to become quite emotional with it."

What does 'It's Coming Home' mean?

'Three Lions' and each of its subsequent versions are imbued with a defiant sense of optimism against the painful litany of England's past failings at major tournaments.

The song begins with the gradual crescendo of the line, 'It's coming home', which serves as a sort of mantra, as if to ward off and drown out the critical voices of pundits decrying the deficiencies of the English team.

The idea of football "coming home" had gained popularity after England won the right to host the European Championship in 1996, with the tournament's tag line being 'Football Comes Home'. This was a reference to the fact that the game we now know as association football was first codified in England.

In another sense, the line has since come to reflect a desire for a second World Cup triumph, with fans willing the team to bring the trophy home for the first time since 1966.

The lyric 'three lions on a shirt', which inspired the name of the single, is a reference to the badge that features on England shirts.

The badge, which features three lions guardant passant (walking with head facing the viewer), is a version of the coat of arms of England.

How many versions are there?

Three definitive versions of 'Three Lions' have been recorded over the years.

As well as the aforementioned 1996 and updated 1998 version, a new song was recorded ahead of the 2010 World Cup, with Baddiel, Skinner and Broudie forming 'The Squad' with Robbie Williams and Russell Brand.

Interestingly, supporters of Germany - England's long-time rivals - have mockingly appropriated the song for themselves, something that one of the writers, Baddiel, has addressed.

"People ask how it makes me feel, to hear the Germans sing it," he wrote in the Guardian during the 2014 World Cup. "Well, there’s a part of me, to be honest, that’s glad someone is still singing it on the terraces. England fans seem to have stopped."

He'll be even happier now that England fans appear to have reclaimed the era-defining stadium anthem.

The lyrics of the original and 1998 version of the song can be read in full below.

Three Lions (Football's Coming Home) Lyrics & Video

It's coming home,It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

It's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

It's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

It's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

Everyone seems to know the score,They've seen it all before,They just know, they're so sureThat England's gonna throw it away, gonna blow it awayBut I know they can play.

'Cause I remember three lions on a shirt! Jules Rimet still gleaming,Thirty years of hurt Never stopped me dreaming.

So many jokes, so many sneers,But all those 'oh so nears' Wear you down, through the years,But I still see that tackle by MooreAnd when Lineker scored,Bobby belting the ballAnd Nobby dancing.

Three lions on a shirt! Jules Rimet still gleaming,Thirty years of hurtNever stopped me dreaming.

I know that was then, but it could be again..

It's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

It's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

It's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

It's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

Three lions on a shirt!Jules Rimet still gleaming,Thirty years of hurtNever stopped me dreaming.

Three lions on a shirt! Jules Rimet still gleaming, Thirty years of hurt Never stopped me dreaming.

Three lions on a shirt! Jules Rimet still gleaming, Thirty years of hurt Never stopped me dreaming.

Three Lions '98 (Football's Coming Home) Lyrics & Video

We still believe, we still believe,We still believe, we still believeIt's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

It's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

Tears for heroes dressed in grey,No plans for final day,Stay in bed, drift away.It could have been all songs in the street, It was nearly complete,It was nearly so sweet

And now I'm singing three lions on a shirt!Jules Rimet still gleaming,No more years of hurt,No more need for dreaming.

Talk about football coming homeAnd then one night in RomeWe were strong, we had grown.Now I see Ince ready for war,Gazza good as before,Shearer certain to scoreAnd Psycho screaming.

Three lions on a shirt!Jules Rimet still gleaming, No more years of hurt, No more need for dreaming.

We can dance Nobby's dance,We can dance it in France...

It's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

It's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

It's coming home, It's coming home, it's coming,Football's coming home.

(Overlapping)

Three lions on a shirt! Jules Rimet still gleaming, No more years of hurt, No more need for dreaming.

Three lions on a shirt! Jules Rimet still gleaming, No more years of hurt, No more need for dreaming.