With only a few days to go until England open their tournament against Serbia at Euro 2024, it won’t be long until supporters of the Three Lions will be chanting on the streets of Gelsenkirchen.
Here is a guide to the ‘Don't Take Me Home' lyrics and their origins.
The chant has now become one of the most popular for England supporters during major tournaments.
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25k England sing: “Don't take me home, please don't take me home, I just don't wanna go to work. I wanna stay here, drinking all the beer..”
— Andy Mitten (@AndyMitten) June 20, 2016
Don’t take me home lyrics:
Don't take me home
Please don't take me home
I just don't wanna go to work
I wanna stay here and drink all your beer
Please don't please don't take me home
Origins of the song explained
‘Don’t take me home’ is set to the tune of Billy Ray Cyrus’ Achy Breaky Heart and highlights the advantages of watching your team or country play abroad.
The origins of the song are not clear, like all football chants, but Newcastle United fans claim it was first sung during the UEFA Cup runs during the 2000s.
It is murky which game, in particular, saw the chant rise in popularity and become well-known by the whole fanbase.
Some supporters have suggested that the away group stage match against Club Brugge during the 2012/13 Europa League campaign was the first time it was widely sung by the Geordies.
Don’t take the Wales fans home
Welsh fans also started to sing the chant in Belgium during their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. Following a 0-0 draw away in Brussels in November 2014, the Welsh contingent began to chant the song in the hope that they could qualify for their first major international tournament since 1958.
Led by talisman Gareth Bale, they were able to qualify for Euro 2016, and throughout the tournament, it was widely sung by the Welsh supporters as they reached the semi-finals.
England fans adopt chant
The chant earned wider popularity during Euro 2016 and was adopted by all three of the home nations that qualified for the tournament, including England. There wasn’t much to cheer about in France, though, as the Three Lions exited the round of 16 at the hands of Iceland.
At the World Cup in 2018, it was popularised by England fans in Russia and back home as Gareth Southgate’s side went all the way to the semi-finals. After the penalty shootout victory against Colombia in the last 16, many England supporters stayed inside the stadium to belt out the tune.