[5] According to Skinner's autobiography, the original lyric included the line "Butcher ready for war" instead of "Bobby belting the ball".
The line was a reference to a notorious World Cup qualifier against Sweden in 1989, when the defender Terry Butcher played despite his head bleeding profusely for much of the match.
[citation needed] The crowd noise in the intro of the track is Brøndby fans recorded by Broudie at Anfield during a UEFA Cup tie in October 1995.
[12] However, the failures have not dampened the feeling that England could succeed again ("Three lions on a shirt / Jules Rimet still gleaming / Thirty years of hurt / never stopped me dreaming").
"[15] Mark Roland from Melody Maker wrote, "It has been left to Ian Broudie to come up with a curiously Slade-esque theme to celebrate the impending Championships.
"[16] In December 1996, Melody Maker ranked "Three Lions" number 44 in their list of "Singles of the Year", adding, "The best footie anthem of all time, and you know it.
[18][19][20][21][22][23] The Britpop phenomenon was at its peak in 1996, and the Lightning Seeds were one of its leading acts, so their involvement gave the song very wide appeal.
It reached number one on the singles chart, and as England progressed to the semi-finals, stadiums around the country echoed to the sound of fans singing the song after English victories over Scotland, the Netherlands and Spain.
[29] By the following week, following England's semi-final defeat by Croatia, and elimination from the tournament, the single had fallen to number 97, setting what was at the time a record for the fastest ever descent from the top of the charts.
The pub scene includes a cameo appearance by 1966 team member Geoff Hurst, who was the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.
The song was largely composed of a recurring chorus, samples from commentators and pundits, and the occasional short verse.
It also started with a French speech sample referring to "La Coupe du Monde" (The World Cup).
[55] The video later portrays a match between the English fans and their German equivalents, most of whom have the name "Kuntz" printed on the back of their football shirts (except for one, who instead has "Klinsmann").
German player Stefan Kuntz had played an instrumental part in Germany's semi-final victory over England at Wembley in 1996, but his name is similar to the disparaging vulgarity "cunts"; the segment was often cut by broadcasters.
[64] The song features added vocals from the ACM Gospel Choir, a soprano (Olivia Safe) and commentator John Motson.
[69] In October 2022, Skinner and Broudie confirmed that a new version of the song would be released in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
[72] On 18 November 2022, Baddiel, Skinner and The Lightning Seeds released the song, titled "Three Lions (It's Coming Home for Christmas)".
The archive footage of the original music video is replaced with footage of the women's team memorably interrupting manager Sarina Wiegman's post-Euro final press conference to sing and dance to the original song, and of the men's team playing in the Euro 2020 final and their reactions to losing.
Geoff Hurst made a cameo, as he had in the original, now dressed as Father Christmas and joined by female Euro-winning players Bethany England and Jess Carter.
[81] In 2016, a parody of the song, "Britain's Coming Home", was released in support of Brexit by UKIP member Mandy Boylett.
[91] Before England's quarterfinal against Sweden, group member Natasha Hamilton shared a video of herself on Twitter singing the alternate lyrics.
[92] On 3 July 2021 during UEFA Euro 2020, Hamilton and fellow member Liz McClarnon then returned to perform the song with reworked lyrics including the existing alternate ones in front of chanting football fans at a watch party at Boxpark Croydon for England's quarterfinal against Ukraine.
[93][94] On 6 July 2021, the day before England's semi-final against Denmark, the group – including Jenny Frost, who rejoined following a 13-year break to re-record – released an official full-length version of the adapted song called "Southgate You're the One (Football's Coming Home Again)" via Columbia Records UK.