Reds On Song
Liverpool FC supporters have hundreds of songs and chants, but do you know the words to – and the stories behind – five of the most popular tunes? ...
When you walk through a storm, Hold your head up high, And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm, There's a golden sky, And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind, Walk on through the rain, Though your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on, With hope in your heart, And you'll never walk alone, You'll never walk alone.
Walk on, walk on, With hope in your heart, And you'll never walk alone, you'll never walk alone.
You'll Never Walk Alone is Anfield's anthem. A song that has been sung on the Kop since the 1960s, but it was originally written in 1945 by two American composers – Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.
They recorded it for a musical called Carousel and, after it was made into a film in the late 1950s, Scouse musician Gerry Marsden heard it and decided to start singing it with his band, Gerry & The Pacemakers. When they released YNWA as a single in 1963 it went to number one in the charts, although Gerry had changed the third line from 'keep your chin up high' to 'hold your head up high'.
In the hour before kick-off at Anfield in the 1960s, the top 10 chart singles would be played in reverse order. So, in October 1963, when YNWA was number one, it was played immediately before kick-off in a game against Leicester City FC. All the Kopites sang along.
This continued before home matches until YNWA dropped out of the top 10. When that happened, and it wasn't played, the Kop started singing 'where's our song, where's our song, where's our song?' Matchday DJ Stuart Brennan took note and ever since – for the last 57 years – You'll Never Walk Alone has been sung as a pre-match ritual at Anfield and become Liverpool FC's anthem.
The words You'll Never Walk Alone also feature on the Shankly Gates and is the only song title to appear on a club crest in English football.
All round the Fields of Anfield Road, Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and could he play!).
Stevie Heighway on the wing, We had dreams and songs to sing, Of the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road.
A re-write of the Irish folk-song Fields of Athenry, this Liverpool FC song was written in the 1995/96 season. As well as the popular chorus, there are also three verses, although you don't hear The Fields of Anfield Road sung in full too often. Some of the words have also changed.
The first line of the chorus was originally 'Oh Ohh the Field of Anfield Road' rather than the 'All round the Fields of Anfield Road' that we all know and sing today. 'And could he play', which is shouted at the end of the second line, was originally 'And he could play'.
'Stevie Heighway on the wing' is also sung by everyone now, although originally it was written as 'We had Heighway on the wing'. It shows how words can evolve over time, but when The Fields of Anfield Road is in full flow on matchdays, few songs sound better.
We've conquered all of Europe, We're never gonna stop. From Paris down to Turkey, We've gone and won the lot.
Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly, The Fields of Anfield Road. We are loyal supporters, And we come from Liverpool.
Allez Allez Allez, Allez Allez Allez, Allez Allez Allez, Allez Allez Allez.
One of the most popular tunes in recent years, Allez Allez Allez is based on a 1985 song called L’Estate Sta Finendo (Summer Is Ending) by an Italian Europop duo called Righeira. You can find it on YouTube if you want to have a listen.
Supporters of a small Italian club called L’Aquila Calcio 1927 adapted it first before fans of SCC Napoli and FC Porto started singing their own versions. A Liverpool FC supporter called Phil Howard saw this online and, in 2016, he and another Red, Liam Malone, wrote Allez Allez Allez.
It was only in 2018, however, on the night Liverpool FC beat FC Porto 5-0 in the UEFA Champions League in Portugal, that it really caught on. Amongst the travelling Kop in Estadio do Dragao was Jamie Webster, a Liverpudlian musician who plays at the A BOSS Night gigs.
Webster added it to his repertoire and, when the Reds reached the UEFA Champions League final in Kiev, recorded a version that was sold on iTunes to raise funds for local Charity 'An Hour For Others', which Trent Alexander-Arnold also supports.
Allez Allez Allez is now a song that is instantly identifiable as belonging to LFC supporters and while fans of other English clubs have copied it, none sing it as well as the famous Kopites.
We went to PSG and Napoli, Belgrade and Germany, When we went the Allianz, Liverpool scored three.
Porto, Barcelona, Who yer try'na kid? We're the mighty Liverpool, We won it in Madrid, We won it in Madrid.
The story of Liverpool FC's 6th European Cup success neatly told by adapting the chorus of The Beautiful South's 1996 song Rotterdam is nothing short of a work of art.
From visiting Paris, Naples and Belgrade in the group stage to making trips to Munich, Porto and Barcelona in the knock-out rounds, it finishes by reminding anyone listening that Liverpool FC won it in Madrid.
It's not the first time Kopites have used this tune either. In 1997 the Reds were trying to reach the final of the UEFA European Cup Winners' Cup – a competition that no longer exists – in Rotterdam. To the same song, Kopites sang: 'This could be Parc des Princes, or Wem-ber-ley, Liverpool or Rome. And when we go to Rotterdam, we'll bring the cup back home, we'll bring the cup back home'.
Unfortunately Roy Evans' Reds were knocked out in the semi-final by Paris Saint-Germain FC that year, but the French club will forever feature in the 2019 version after Liverpool FC beat them along the way to the final, where we won it in Madrid.
We're champions of the world, We're champions of the world. And now you're gonna believe us, And now you're gonna believe us, And now you're gonna believe us...We're champions of the world!
Liverpool FC had never won the FIFA Club World Cup before. So when the Reds went to Qatar in December and returned home with a new trophy to add to the Champions Wall at Melwood, Kopites needed a song to celebrate. They kept it simple.
To the same chant of 'We're Gonna Win the League' – which has also been heard at Anfield this season – Liverpool supporters now sing 'We're Champions of the World'.
Which is something to shout about thanks to Roberto Firmino's winning goal against Flamengo in the FIFA Club World Cup final in Doha.
