There are few clubs in England who better embody both football and music as much as Liverpool do. With Merseyside the birthplace of all four of the Beatles and home to the Anfield club, it's natural that the Reds and their supporters would incorporate song into the framework of their club .
"You'll Never Walk Alone" has long been Liverpool's official anthem, philosophy and mantra, played at Anfield and sung by its scarf-bearing supporters before every kick-off and all over the world.
Since the late 2010s, however, another song has captured the hearts and minds of Liverpool fans, mostly sung during European games with the chorus comprising just three French words: "Allez, Allez, Allez!"
But how did the famous chant come about, who wrote it, and how did it get popular? GOAL takes a look.
What are the Allez Allez Allez lyrics?
We conquered all of Europe,
And we will never stop,
From Paris on to Turkey,
We've won the f*cking lot!
Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly,
The Fields of Anfield Road,
We are the supporters,
We come from Liverpool!
Allez, allez, allez!
Allez, allez, allez!
Allez, allez, allez!
Allez, allez, allez!
We conquered all of Europe,
And we will never stop,
From Paris on to Turkey,
We've won the f*cking lot!
Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly,
The Fields of Anfield Road,
We are the supporters,
We come from Liverpool!
Allez, allez, allez!
Allez, allez, allez!
Allez, allez, allez!
Allez, allez, allez!
What is the story behind Allez Allez Allez?
"Allez Allez Allez" is a relatively new Liverpool chant, despite its popularity and reputation. It was the trademark song to accompany the Reds during their quest for European glory in 2017-18, when they reached their first Champions League final in 11 years. It has a unique origin story, having first been sung by a group of travelling, singing Liverpool fans in Porto in February 2018.
Originally inspired from a 1980s Italian disco classic whose lyrics had been shared by supporters from Genoa, Napoli, Atletico Madrid and Juventus, it was during the away leg at Estadio do Dragao where the first rough inklings of the song were born.
The original 1985 song "L’Estate Sta Finendo” (“The Summer Is Ending”) by Italian disco duo Righeira was a hit in their native country. Its spread across Europe has been curious, starting from Abruzzo, a small city in southern Italy, before reaching Turin, Naples, and Madrid.
Supporters from a host of clubs across the continent had taken their turns singing the song during their European away days, each adapting uniquely for their own use and changing the lyrics. Italian teams, though, always started their versions the same way – with the lyrics "un giorno all’improvviso" (one day, suddenly...).
But it was around February 2016 that the song started gaining popularity in the UK through the sharing of YouTube videos. Scottish side Rangers had adopted it as well, and by the time that Porto played Dortmund in the Europa League later that season, it had been a staple in their songbook – and is, according to them, how it was noticed by Liverpool supporters and adapted for their own.
And so, in February 2018 when the Reds were 5-0 up against Porto, a handful of fans who had seen videos of the chant doing the rounds on social media tried to get a new Liverpool version going.
Not everyone knew the words straight off the bat, but the melody was catchy enough. More and more fans were able to follow along with the simple "Allez Allez Allez" chorus.
Footage of the game – and the song – was shared online and quickly went viral. Shortly after, fans at the Newcastle game were caught on video singing it, followed by fans at Anfield for the return leg against Porto.
The song in its current and most well-known iteration, however, with its full lyrics, were written by Scouse musician and Liverpool fan Jamie Webster.
Webster was in the stands at the Estadio do Dragao when he caught onto the tune, already sensing its immense potential. He immediately got to work on his guitar fleshing out the verses, speeding up the tempo, completing the lyrics and perfecting the melody to turn it into the song as we know it.
"I’d heard murmurs of it at Anfield before,” he told the New York Times.
"But in Porto there was a group of lads singing it. People didn't know the words, but they were trying to follow them. I wanted to get it out there."
Webster performs regularly around Liverpool, giving him the chance to work out the best possible version of the song. He debuted his own, full version of the song a few days after the Porto game to Reds supporters, to raucous reception.
“I just knew straight away, the first time I played it… people of 65 years of age singing along, it was absolutely bouncing in the pub," he told i Sport .
“Then we played Man United away. We got beat 2-1 but all the fans stayed in the seats absolutely bouncing for another hour after.”
From then, the story writes itself. The chant took off spectacularly and became a massive hit, with fans singing it at every opportunity in and out of Premier League and European games – but reaches full decibels during Champions League nights.
The song was bellowed out on the road to the Kiev final in 2018, and continued to be sung passionately from Liverpool terraces as the Reds booked their spot in a second successive Champions League final in 2019 against Tottenham in Madrid.
As for Webster, he's been able to take the song he adapted and its lyrics around the world, even duetting on it with Liverpool goalkeeper and guitar-player Alisson.
The singer was also invited along to Liverpool's U.S. pre-season summer tour in 2018, and was given a surprise when Jurgen Klopp joined him for an impromptu rendition and a few bars in Michigan.
“It was great when Klopp came to see me,” said Webster. “It wasn’t like he had to be there. He asked ‘what’s this lad doing here’ and so the club explained a bit to him about what I’d done so he came down to see me.
“It just goes to show what sort of man he is. He’s the closest thing you can get to a modern-day Shankly I think. Everything he does and says shows his passion for the people of Liverpool.”
It's not hard to see why "Allez Allez Allez" has earned its permanent place in the Anfield songbook.
Arsenal version of Allez Allez Allez
During the 2023-24 season, Arsenal fans began to sing their own version of the Allez, Allez, Allez song, much to the chagrin of Liverpool supporters, who feel their song has been 'stolen'.
Here are the Arsenal Allez Allez Allez lyrics:
We won the league at Anfield,
We won it at the Lane,
Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford,
No one can say the same,
Mikel Arteta’s army,
We’re Arsenal through and through,
We’ll sing it in the North Bank,
And in the Clock End too.
Allez Allez Allez!
Allez Allez Allez!
Allez Allez Allez!
Allez Allez Allez!
