“Good times never seemed so good”: England is enjoying football again – and after a long period of ghost games, the fans can celebrate again. You can hear one song everywhere: “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond.
Football fans in England are known for their chants in the stadium. Many players have their own short songs that are sung in the arenas. Two classics persist in national team games: The hit “Three Lions (Football’s Coming Home)”, which has been part of the repertoire since the 1996 European Championship. And of course the national anthem “God Save The Queen”, which is sung several times during every international match.
At the current European Championship, however, there is a new hit: The English fans have discovered the song “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond for themselves. The 1969 song makes an unexpected comeback at the English Games. Even players and coaches are enthusiastic about the new anthem.
EM 2021: England coach Southgate is also a fan of “Sweet Caroline”
“To hear the fans singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ at the end is just amazing,” enthused coach Gareth Southgate after the historic victory in the round of 16 against Germany. “Sweet Caroline” is “simply unbeatable”: “This is really a blast.” And captain Harry Kane paused deeply moved after the final whistle to listen to the fans for a few moments – the striker could hardly hold back his tears.
Moments like these trigger special emotions after many months without spectators in the football stadiums. “It was unbelievable how the fans supported us, they were behind us in every duel,” said Southgate after the Germany game at Wembley. Even at the quarter-finals against Ukraine in Rome, despite the difficult entry regulations, some English fans were in the stadium. England enjoys a kind of home advantage at the European Championships: The “Three Lions” played the first four games in London, the semi-finals and a possible final will also take place there. From a pandemic point of view, the almost full Wembley Stadium is cause for concern, but the atmosphere during the games is splendid.
“Sweet Caroline” becomes a catchy tune at the EM
The use of “Sweet Caroline” apparently originated in the USA, reports the English media. The song has played in every game played by the Boston Red Sox baseball team since 2002. According to legend, it was played there for the first time in 1997, because a staff member had a daughter named Caroline – the fans were so excited that they wanted to hear it again and again. In the English Premier League, Aston Villa fans, among others, sing the song regularly during their club’s games.
Now the piece has become one of the catchy tunes of the European Football Championship – probably also because of the line “Good times never seemed so good”, which the English fans shout out particularly passionately after victories. Neil Diamond originally wrote the song about his then wife Marcia Murphey, but needed a three-syllable name for the rhyme. The song was later covered by Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, among others.
The now 70-year-old singer was “thrilled” to hear the fans at Wembley sing his song, he told the Telegraph before the England versus Ukraine game: “I hope you can do it again.” The English fans would like to roar the hit twice more – after the semi-finals and after the final as European champions. Then the football culture on the island would certainly have a new classic.
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
