“Don’t Take Me Home”: The story behind the song that England fans will play at Euro 2024

England fans are known for loudly supporting their team across Europe and the world when major tournaments are approaching.

Thousands of fans travel around the world to support England, confident that they can win the title and finally “bring football home”.

Despite years of near-victories and heart-breaking penalty shootouts, England’s fans have remained loud and enthusiastic, with new songs added to the playlist at each tournament.

Neil Diamond’s hit “Sweet Caroline” has been on the rise since the 2020 European Championship, but “Don’t Take Me Home” has also become the latest catchy tune at the 2024 European Championship.

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Why do England fans sing “Don’t Take Me Home”?

The chants of “Don’t Take Me Home” date back mainly to the 2016 European Championships in France, when fans from many countries came together to sing the chant together.

Fans agreed to stay in France and cheer for their team, singing that they wanted to avoid a return to normal life and work. The song echoed through stadiums across France.

English fans continued singing the song at Euro 2024 as the team progressed in the tournament, as a tribute to their desire to stay away from “reality” for as long as possible.

@voiceofthestands England chant Don’t take me home! #englandfootball #englandchants #footballchants #chants #celebrations #euro2020 #euro2021 #euros #euros2024 #3lions #itscominghome #fyp #footballtiktok #footballtogether ♬ Original sound – Voice Of The Stands 🏟️

England fan songs: “It’s Coming Home”, “Sweet Caroline” and other songs

At major international matches, England fans are never short of songs, and the fans’ long setlist also includes “Sweet Caroline” and “Don’t Take Me Home.”

Previous tournaments have seen some somewhat clumsy attempts by players to create “official” tournament songs, including John Barnes’ rap as part of New Order’s “World in Motion” before the 1990 World Championship.

The most famous English song, however, came about in the run-up to the 1996 European Championships, when comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner teamed up with rock band The Lightning Seeds to record the iconic song “Three Lions/It’s Coming Home”.

“It’s coming home!” 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎶

To get the party started, there is nothing better than singing along with @IanZBroudie and that @Lightning_Seeds 🎶#VirginRadioUK @talksport#EURO2024 #3Lions #It’sComingHome #SRBENG pic.twitter.com/sZyOGRWPwg

— Virgin Radio UK (@VirginRadioUK) June 16, 2024

The song was updated for the 1998 and 2022 World Cups and remains the favourite song of English fans who follow their team. It’s why you’ll often hear “It’s Coming Home” blaring from the stands at an England game – and why Leonardo Bonucci screamed “It’s Coming Rome!” into the camera when Italy beat England on penalties at Wembley in the 2020 Euro final.