by Swagatam Bora
"Walk on with hope in your heart, and you'll never walk alone”
YOU’LL Never Walk alone, every time there’s a match in Anfield the crowd even the players of Liverpool sing this song with their heart out to show their love and support to the club. Today we look back at its why the greatest song not only in football but also the entire history of sports.
The Song
This song You’ll Never Walk Alone was originally composed by Oscar Hammerstein for a Broadway theatre Carousel which was released in 1945, USA. This song later was covered by many artists during the 50s and 60s as part of Music revolution in UK. In 1963 Gerry Marsden took up this tune and recorded with his band Gerry and the Pacemakers, this soothing and amazing song became an instant hit and took the UK charts by storm lasting four weeks in top of the charts.
How it became the Anthem of Liverpool FC?
During the time of release of that song, the then great Liverpool team very accustomed to that song as Gerry and the pacemakers were from Merseyside and it developed a great interest to the team. In that year 1964, Liverpool were travelling across America for pre-season games and due to the popularity of Gerry And the Pacemakers across the world, they were invited to the Great Ed Sullivan show where The Beatles had their first public TV appearance in America. When Gerry Marsden came to know about the team was travelling in the States he immediately invited them to come over to the show and join them in the performance of You’ll Never Walk Alone. It was a great show and after wards Bill Shankly the Great Liverpool Manager approach to Gerry Marsden and said -
"Gerry, my son I have given you a football team and you have given us a song”
On the first game of that season at the Anfield the fans in the Legendary Kop were singing You’ll never walk alone with their heart out, the crowd chant was so loud and heavy that it suppressed the loudspeakers of the stadium. From that match onwards the loudspeakers started playing the song before the kick-off and the rest was history.
Why it is so significant?
The song developed a new meaning and symbolism after the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 in which 96 fans lost their lives. Twenty-six years after the first coroner's inquest concluded the deaths were accidental, the campaigning efforts of the families of the deceased resulted in a new verdict being delivered stating that their relatives had been unlawfully killed. Throughout that process the lyrics of that song gave the people a sense of hope and unification.
Today, the words “you’ll never walk alone” are craved on the Shankly Gates below the Liverpool crest, which was made in 1982.
In the pop culture, the singing of the Anfield crowd of the song was featured in Pink Floyd’s song “Fearless”, showing how important the song is to the crowd and to the people of Liverpool.
The message of hope in the song has given the fans of Liverpool hope through some very tough times –both on and off the field. If you ask any Liverpool fan about their greatest YNWA moment, it will be the match in Istanbul. Liverpool were losing 3-0 to AC Milan. Legend has it that the motivating effect of the fans singing You’ll Never Walk Alone gave the players hope when all seemed lost. This small act of defiance in the face of adversity galvanised the Liverpool team, and they managed to pull back and win the match on penalties, crowning them European Cup Champions.
Liverpool Created a Club and to carry forward that legacy the fans supported them through thick and thin and used YNWA to its full potential, making it more than a club.
Really well written bruv 🥺.
Incredible post.
Such a lovely story.