Three Lions

The music was written by the Lightning Seeds singer Ian Broudie, while Baddiel and Skinner—presenters of the football comedy show Fantasy Football League provided the lyrics. The title comes from the England team emblem. Both the original version of Three Lions and the updated Three Lions '98 reached number one on the UK Singles Charts. The song has been described as the de facto anthem of English football since 1996. It’s chorus, with the refrain "It's coming home", has become a popular chant for fans at England games. The Football Association (FA) asked songwriter 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 Skinner and Baddiel, to write the lyrics. The song title refers to the three lions on the England team crest. The chorus lyric, "it's coming home", reflected the fact that the Euro 96 competition was the first football competition England had hosted since the 1966 FIFA World Cup but has evolved to include the concept of the cup returning to the homeland of the sport. The song makes references to several players, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles and Gordon Banks, who played in the 1966 World Cup winning England team. Among the references in the song are:

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• "That tackle by Moore": Bobby Moore's tackle of Jairzinho in a group match against Brazil at the 1970 FIFA World Cup.

• "When Lineker scored": Gary Lineker's goal against West Germany in a semi-final at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

• "Bobby belting the ball": Bobby Charlton's goal against Mexico in a group match at the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

• "Nobby dancing": Nobby Stiles dancing with the Jules Rimet Trophy after England won the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

It was so popular that even other teams liked it.

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