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Gareth Southgate has just undergone a rather drastic turnaround in how his position as England manager is viewed with most supporters switching their opinion from ‘should leave’ to ‘please stay’ in the wake of the Three Lions’ performances during the Qatar 2022 World Cup campaign. As a result, the chant “Southgate You’re the One” has, arguably, never had more meaning to it. Here we look at where the song came from and the actual lyrics included.
Where did “Southgate You’re the One, You still turn me on” song come from?
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Football chants come from all sorts of places and whilst the vast majority are re-works of one-time hit songs, it’s not everyday that a girl band sings gets belted out on the terraces. That’s what happened during England’s journey deep into the latter stages of Russia 2018 though with England fans revamping Atomic Kitten’s 2000 hit ‘Whole Again’.
That tournament was Southgate’s first major tournament as boss of the Three Lions and the tune to honour him was a reflection of reignited hopes given to a nation. Lines such as “football’s coming home again” and “Southgate you’re the one” serve as proof of that concept; Southgate’s men had the whole of England thinking the World Cup could really be won again.
Ultimately, that never happened in 2018 but progress was evident. That progress remained in a forward motion throughout Euro 2020, which was delayed by a year, as England made the final before suffering penalty heartache against Italy. Still though, “Southgate You’re the One” was sung loud and proud.
2000s girl band Atomic Kitten blew it up
Atomic Kitten and football. It’s a strange mix. The girl band, who had barely featured outside of cheesy pop mixes until Southgate’s impressive reign as England boss, didn’t want to miss out on an easy win. They picked up on their original song being reworked as a footy chant ahead of the European Championships and, boy, did they embrace it.
In the modern day, you’d forgive them for taking to Instagram or TikTok to create some buzz over a few seconds of song. They didn’t though. The Atomic Kitten girls went big bang; they released “Southgate You’re the One” as a full song in July 2021. On top of that, they also made a public appearance at the populate fan zone BoxPark Croydon to blast out a live version of the fan developed song. It went down a storm with the watching masses.
Will it be sung again?
Will we hear England fans sing “Southgate you’re the one” ever again? Well, he’s thrown his future into doubt with some recent comments after the country’s exit from the Qatar 2022 World Cup, however, fans and pundits – or at least the majority of them – want Southgate to stay. That’s perhaps a change of stance from before a ball was kicked in Qatar where most people thought this would and should be his last major tournament.
England impressed during the competition though and, but for a Harry Kane missed penalty – and a suspect refereeing performance, could easily have made another semi-final. With that all considered, it’s perhaps more fitting than ever that the England fans unite for a mass chorus of “Southgate You’re the One” to convince the former Middlesbrough boss to stay on for at least one more tournament.
The full lyrics of “Southgate You’re the One”
If you see me walking down the street,
Staring at the sky,
And dragging my two feet,
You just pass me by,
It still makes me cry,
But football’s coming home again
And if you see me sitting in the stands,
Laughing and joking,
Doing what I can,
I won’t put you down,
‘Cause I want you around,
Football’s coming home again
Looking back on when we first met,
I cannot escape and I cannot forget,
Southgate, you’re the one, you still turn me on,
Football’s coming home again,
Time is laying heavy on my heart,
Seems I’ve got too much of it,
Since we’ve been apart,
My friends make me smile,
If only for a while,
Football’s coming home again,
(One, two, three, four)
Looking back on when we first met,
I cannot escape and I cannot forget,
Southgate, you’re the one, you still turn me on,
Football’s coming home again
For now I’ll have to wait,
But this is our time,
It is our fate,
‘Cause I just can’t go on,
It’s already been too long,
Football’s coming home again,
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
Looking back on when we first met,
I cannot escape and I cannot forget,
Southgate, you’re the one, you still turn me on,
Football’s coming home again,
(One, two, three, four) whoa, whoa
Looking back on when we first met,
I cannot escape and I cannot forget,
Southgate, you’re the one, you still turn me on,
Football’s coming home again,
Southgate, you’re the one, you still turn me on,
Football’s coming home again
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