Three Lions: Thirty years of looking back at thirty years
On Wednesday, Martha and I stopped for a pint and caught the final stretch of the England-Congo match at the World Cup. Congo was leading 1-0, and then — boom. Harry Kane scored not one but two goals, assuring England another chance at World Cup glory.
World Cup aspirations are of course a national obsession in England.
Indeed, they have a whole song about it, and that tune is now exactly as old as the drought it was rousing England to end.
Three Lions is a true football anthem. In 1996, comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner (who both were football mad) teamed up with Ian Broudie, who performs as Lightning Seeds, for a song that captured the thirst for World Cup victory, 30 years after England’s big win.
Everyone seems to know the score, they’ve seen it all before
They just know, they’re so sure
That England’s gonna throw it away, gonna blow it away
But 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
[About Jules Rimet: That was the trophy, named after an early FIFA president, that England won in 1966; it was replaced in 1974, and was subsequently stolen.]
Back to our narrative.
What people remember most about Three Lions is not the opening words, but the singalong chorus … and some really curious word choices: “It’s coming home, it’s coming home, football’s coming home.”
Oh really, says the rest of the world, at least every four years.
Three Lions has been re-released through the decades … including yet again in 2026.
This means we’re now looking back 30 years at a Britpop-flavoured footie anthem that itself was looking back 30 years at a historic British sporting triumph. It’s pop-culture canon in the U.K. Harry Styles used Three Lions in a singalong anthem last week at his big shows in Wembley.
On this side of the Atlantic, I’m not sure how well Three Lions has travelled outside football circles, to be honest.
The song and its video capture a lot of the essentials of being a loyal and often disappointed fan, especially in the U.K: sharing misery over a tea, reveries in the stands, chants and cheers, watching the game in the pub.
As for me, I will be watching England … but for now, our house is cheering for both Canada and (of course) Spain. Big match this afternoon against Austria!