Why are we asking this now? England have reached the final of Euro 2024 where they face Spain in Berlin looking to end a 58-year drought without a trophy. Victory for Gareth Southgate ’s side would also bring redemption after a crushing loss at Wembley to Italy in the Euro 2020 final. So where does the chant come from? “It’s coming home” is, of course, the central refrain from “Three Lions”, the song penned by stand-up comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel to celebrate England hosting Euro 96 a quarter of a century ago.
The song is laced with nostalgia for our greatest footballing triumph – winning the 1966 World Cup by beating West Germany 4-2 thanks to a hat-trick from Geoff Hurst – and is both a lament for the disappointments and underachievement of the intervening years and a testament to eternal optimism among England fans, unshakeable in their faith that old glories might be revived. The “it” in question could refer either to a major tournament trophy or, less literally, to the spirit of the sport itself, returning like the Prodigal Son to the British Isles where it was first conceived after adventuring overseas to nations that have proved more adept exponents of its arts in recent decades like Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Germany. How did two comedians come to write England’s unofficial anthem? Skinner and Baddiel were known at the time for hosting the BBC’s hugely popular, if laddy, comedy show Fantasy Football League (1994-96), essentially.
