Baddiel and Skinner release new version of Three Lions after rewriting lyrics
Baddiel and Skinner have released a new version of 'Three Lions' ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The comedians-cum-singers first released the track with Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie in 1996, and it has become a staple song at every major international football competition since.
The pair said that although their famous refrain 'football's coming home' had become obsolete following victory for the England women's team in the Euros earlier this year, they would give it 'one more go for the blokes'.
Check out the new version here:
"We could not resist the fact that the World Cup was at Christmas, and people have said in the past that football songs are a little bit tacky, and obviously Christmas songs are a bit tacky," 65-year-old Skinner said on The One Show.
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"In maths two negatives make a positive, so we think there's so much tacky in this that it's going to be a classic."
Baddiel, 58, added: "The Lionesses brought it home, football came home and some would say that's the end of the song, stop singing it.
"But we decided to give it one more go on the basis that the blokes have not brought it home."
The video shows Skinner and Baddiel dressed in Christmas jumpers, superimposed next to their younger selves and decorating a tree with Lioness baubles.
"The blokes seem cursed whatever they try and I think I know why, they're just jinxed in July," they sing.
"But it's December… three lions on a sleigh. With she-lions inspiration, Santa says, 'Let's play.'"
Speaking about the performance of the Lionesses - who stormed to victory over Germany in July - Skinner said: "The fact is, the best I've ever seen an England team play was this summer and it was the Lionesses.
"It wasn't like 'oh yes we've got to support the women's game,' no this was brilliant football."
The World Cup gets under way on Sunday (20 November) with the frankly underwhelming opener Qatar v Ecuador.
England then get their campaign rolling the following day with a 1pm kick off against Iran.
This winter tournament will be like none before, with many feeling the competition should not be taking place in Qatar due to its human rights record and treatment of the LGBTQ+ community, among other things.
England manager Gareth Southgate – who along with his squad on Thursday (17 November) met migrant workers at England's Al Wakrah training base – believes the expectations on players to speak out on political points has risen in recent years but, while he is keen for it to not impact on performances, he wants them to voice their opinions.
"We are now asked more of those types of questions than ever before," he said.
"Perhaps it's because we've made a rod for our own back in that we've dealt with some pretty hefty issues fairly well, I think, as a group.
"But the reality is, very few of us were university educated, we're doing our best to make sure that we're as informed as we can be and I think we will speak up when we think we can make a difference.
"I think that the background to why they have had that awareness and have had that impact is because their upbringings have been so diverse.
"I think the diversity of the team brings that difference in thinking because of the experiences in their own lives."
Jake Massey