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You'll Never Walk Alone

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"You'll Never Walk Alone"
Song
LanguageEnglish
Composer(s)Richard Rodgers
Lyricist(s)Oscar Hammerstein II

"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Carousel.

This song is given to the character of Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the female protagonist Julie Jordan. This song is introduced in the second act, when Nettie sings it to comfort Julie and give her courage when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the male lead, has killed himself after a failed robbery. It is reprised in the final scene to encourage a graduation class of which Louise (their daughter) is a member. Billy attends this ceremony during his return to earth and inspires them with his words of encouragement, assuring them of his love.

Christine Johnson, who created the role of Nettie first introduced the song in the original Broadway production, and later Jan Clayton as Julie Jordan reprises it at the end with the chorus joining in. In the film it is sung by Claramae Turner as Nettie, (although the weeping Shirley Jones (as Julie) first tries to sing it, but cannot), and later reprised by Ms. Jones and a chorus.

Because the song is included during the graduation finale of the musical, it has become a standard, sung by graduation classes in the United States.

The song is also sung at football clubs around the world, where it is performed by a massed chorus of supporters on matchday; this tradition began at Liverpool F.C. in the early nineteen-sixties and later spread to several other clubs.

Besides the recordings of the song on the Carousel cast albums and the film soundtrack, the song has been recorded by many artists, including Gerry & The Pacemakers, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Doris Day, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Kate Smith, Olivia Newton-John, Tom Jones, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Bryn Terfel and Mario Lanza. The original film version of the song was also used during the eulogy scene for the matriarch in the 1997 Australian film "Welcome to Woop-Woop" starring Rod Taylor and Johnathan Schaech.

Sporting anthem

Shankly Gates

In England, the song's most successful performance was recorded in 1963 by the Liverpudlian Merseybeat group Gerry and the Pacemakers (peaking at number one in the singles chart for four consecutive weeks). It quickly became the anthem of Liverpool Football Club and is invariably sung by its supporters moments before the start of each home game.[1][2] Gerry Marsden told BBC Radio how, in the nineteen-sixties, the deejay at Anfield would play the top-ten commercial records in ascending order, with the number one single transmitted last, shortly before kickoff. Supporters standing on the Spion Kop terrace would sing along, and once You'll Never Walk Alone dropped out of the top-ten, says Marsden, they continued to sing it.[3][4] The words You'll Never Walk Alone also feature in the club crest and on the Shankly Gate entrance to the stadium.

The song has since gained popularity among the fans of other clubs around the world, including:

A special recording was made in solidarity with Bradford City following the Valley Parade fire in 1985, when 56 fans died and many more were injured. The song was performed by The Crowd (including Gerry Marsden, Paul McCartney and Rolf Harris).[5]

On 19th April 1989, a few days after the Hillsborough Disaster resulted in the deaths of 96 fans of Liverpool Football Club, a European Cup semi-final between A.C. Milan and Real Madrid was played. The referee blew his whistle 6 minutes into the game to stop play (the game at Hillsborough stadium had been stopped at 3:06) and held a minute's silence. About 20 seconds into the silence the Milan fans began to sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" as a tribute to those who died.[6]

After witnessing a rousing rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" at Anfield in 2007, the President of the Spanish Olympic Committee, Alejandro Blanco, said he felt inspired to seek lyrics to his country's wordless national anthem, the Royal March, ahead of Madrid's bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games.[7][8]

Other performances and recordings

An operatic version by José Carreras, Plácido Domingo & Luciano Pavarotti with James Levine, reached number 21 in the UK charts in July 1998.[citation needed]

In 1999, it was performed by John Farnham, who made his first release of the song in 1972, at the Tour Of Duty Concert in Dili, East Timor, for the Australian peace-keeping troops.[citation needed]

On The Led Zeppelin DVD a version was performed by the crowd at the conclusion of the 1979 Knebworth performance on the second disk of the set.[citation needed]

It is also played by the Western Illinois University Marching Leathernecks at the end of every performance. The band faces each other in a large circle with a quartet in the centre. The members play and sing "Never Walk" as reminder of the strength of the bond between members. This tradition was started by the late Dale Hopper during the 1970s. The University of North Texas also follows this same practice. The Spirit and the Pride of Pennsylvania Mountie Marching Band from Mansfield University of PA also follows this practice. The quartet includes 2 trumpets and 2 mellophones.[citation needed]

The song is traditionally sung by the Desert Vista marching band after every performance, a tradition started by the late Eric Holden.[citation needed]

It is also the corps song of the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps.[citation needed]

The song is also sung by Jerry Lewis at the end of his annual telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.[citation needed]

Frankie Vaughan recorded the song several times, most notably for his album 'Moonlight and love songs' in 1979.[citation needed]

Elvis Presley recorded the song and had a minor hit single with the song in the late 1960s, he also scored a hit album with the song later in 1971.[citation needed]

On December 23, 1989, Regine Velasquez gave a vocally challenging rendition as her winning piece at the prestigious Asia Pacific Song Festival in 1989 which catapulted her as the "Asia's Songbird".Her exposure from the contest sky-rocketed her from Filipino celebrity to Asian music superstar.She released the song as a CD single in 1990 which reached double platinum status in sales in the Philippines and has become one of her signature songs.[1][citation needed]

The inspirational Aretha Franklin version of the song was played at the wedding of the late John Peel.[citation needed]

Television, film, and radio

The Pink Floyd song "Fearless", from their 1971 Meddle album, includes a recording of the Liverpool Kop singing "You'll Never Walk Alone". The recording is repeated many times during the song and appears solely as a conclusion at the end of the track.

The song was also sung in the BBC radio show The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Eddie, the shipboard computer.

The Mario Lanza version is also played during the closing credits of the Peter Jackson film Heavenly Creatures.

In the US sitcom Cheers, the song is also sung at the end of an episode when Carla learns she is pregnant again. Feeling sorry for her situation and lack of money, Diane, Sam and Coach get a collection of donations for her and she is walked out of the bar as this is sung, led by Diane, accompanied by much eye-rolling from Sam and Cliff who obviously see the connection between this and Carousel.

In the 1994 film Priest, the song is sung by a church chorus after Father Greg demands divine intervention to help him deal with the fact that Lisa is suffering repeatedly at the hands of her incestuous father while Greg is powerless to do anything because he is bound by the seal of the confessional. The song continues as Lisa's mother discovers that Lisa's father has been raping her and chastises Father Greg for his inaction. The song is repeated in an instrumental version at the end of the film when Lisa is the sole person willing to receive communion from a disgraced Father Greg and the two hug.

In 2001, Barbra Streisand performed the song on the Emmy Awards in tribute to the victims of the 11 September attacks.

The song is featured as the background music in Rune Glifberg's part in Flip's skate tape Really Sorry.

In the summer of 2006, Aoife Mulholland performed her rendition on the British reality TV show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria (the winner getting to play the part of Maria von Trapp in The Sound Of Music). Her emotional performance in rehearsals had apparently brought tears to Andrew Lloyd Weber's eyes. Her performance on the live show began well but half way through the song, Aoife herself was overwhelmed by the lyrics, causing her voice to crack. However, the panel agreed that her performance was "good".

On 16 December, 2006, 18-year-old Ray Quinn performed the song on The X Factor UK's semi final, in which he was competing against Leona Lewis. Ray said the song meant a lot to him and was a way of showing his appreciation to his supporters from his local area, Liverpool. The end of the performance received a standing ovation; Ray himself also broke down as the song had meant a lot to him. Mentor Simon Cowell said the performance was an assurance that Ray "had not let him down".

On April 24, 2007, 17-year-old Jordin Sparks (who also won that season's competition) performed the song on American Idol's first Idol Gives Back episode, in which each contestant performed an "inspirational" song. The performance, the last of the night, received a jubilant ovation from the live audience and cemented her ascent from also-ran to favorite. Judge Randy Jackson called it "one of the best performances on American Idol, ever, in six seasons." Judge Simon Cowell said of her performance, "I thought you were fantastic. That song is about 60 years old [and] I think you'd have a hit record with that. Brilliant".

The song itself is referenced in Franz Ferdinand's song "L. Wells".

Recorded versions

Parodies

During games featuring either of the Liverpool football clubs, away fans are often heard to sing a parody of it. The words to this are, "Sign on, sign on, with a pen in your hand, coz you'll never get a job". This is an anachronistic reference to the high number of people in Liverpool who were unemployed during the 1980s.[11] Another parody (originally sung by Manchester United fans, more famously at the 1977 FA Cup final) involving the lyrics 'F off, F off, with hope in your hearts, and you'll never walk again.' [12] A third adaption includes the words "You'll Never Get A Loan".[13]

References

  1. ^ You'll Never Walk Alone, Google Video, Liverpool vs. Chelsea 2005
  2. ^ a b Liverpool or Celtic: who Walked Alone first? The Guardian March 12, 2003
  3. ^ John Cavanagh, 'The History of You'll Never Walk Alone', BBC Songlines, 2006
  4. ^ John Morgan, "The Other Mersey Sound", BBC Panorama, 1964
  5. ^ Bradford remembers fire disaster, BBC Sport, 11 May, 2005
  6. ^ A.C. Milan versus Real Madrid C.F. April 19, 1989
  7. ^ "Liverpool fans help inspire Spain to write words to anthem". Reuters. June 5 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Spain to add lyrics to wordless national anthem". MSNBC. June 26 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Recorded Live in Europe During Her Latest Concert Tour [record album, LP format], Sony Music Entertainment Inc., 1962. Re-released in multiple formats, 2001
  10. ^ It's Raining In My Heart (LP/MC) (Goud & Platina) 1976
  11. ^ English soccer fans could teach the Italians how to behave The Daily Telegraph 16 April, 2005
  12. ^ MUFC fans, FA Cup Final 1977
  13. ^ Couple provides night of satire January 8, 2008
Preceded by UK number one single
(Gerry and the Pacemakers version)
October 31 1963 (4 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UK number one single (The Crowd version)
June 9 1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UK number one single (Robson & Jerome version)
November 3 1996 		Succeeded by
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