‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is treasured by millions of Liverpool fans all over the world for the sense of hope, solidarity and resilience that it instills within listeners every single time it is played.
But while the Reds may love it, it makes talkSPORT’s Jason Cundy see red for a very different reason.
The anthem first appeared as a song in the Rogers and Hammerstein 1945 musical, Carousel[/caption]
The Sports Bar presenter took to the airwaves in the wake of Liverpool‘s stunning 4-0 victory over Bundesliga defending champions Bayer Leverkusen.
He and co-host Jamie O’Hara invited callers onto the show to dissect another fantastic performance from the Reds, who now remain the only team in the Champions League to have won all their games so far.
Pair that with Arne Slot‘s excellent record in the Premier League – which they currently top by two points – and Liverpool fans have been living in something of a dreamland so far.
But in response to one fan’s assessment of the game, Cundy admitted that he was feeling more than a little disgruntled by just how well the Merseyside team were getting on.
“It’s starting to annoy me, Liverpool,” he grumbled. “It’s starting to annoy me.
O’Hara was quick to point out that Cundy had been upset by the Reds even before they pulled off another sensational win – for one bizarrely specific reason.
“Mate, they were annoying you as soon as I walked in (the office) and you were moaning about the ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ song!” he said.
“Oh, the ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ thing, honestly,” groaned Cundy, clearly upset by the favourite song of the club.
“Just give it the respect it deserves,” argued O’Hara. “It’s a banger. The commentary goes quiet. You’ve just got to listen to it and respect it.”
But Cundy was having none of it, as he explained exactly what it was that offended him about the anthem.
No wonder Liverpool fans have been singing their anthem with such feeling after their dream season so far[/caption]
“No, I’m sorry,” he began. “Fair enough, Liverpool fans (listening to it), I get it.
“But they subject every other football fan to it. Everyone stays silent. I bet they’re all standing up in the gantry, hands on their heart. It’s not the National Anthem!
“Fair enough, Liverpool fans. I get it. It’s their club, their song.”
O’Hara could not understand the level of his annoyance though.
“Why are they getting to you so much?” he quizzed Cundy.
“Because they don’t do it for any other song,” said Cundy. “But Liverpool annoy me because they’re getting results and you can’t say they’re brilliant, but they keep winning.”
O’Hara related to listeners what had happened earlier that night when he had walked into the office.
“I’m sat in there having a bit of dinner,” he explained. “I’ve got the two games on. I’ve turned it up. It gives you goosebumps. You can’t get away from it. Anfield, Champions League night.
“It’s a great song. Cundy walks in and he’s like, oh, here we go again. That’s it. He hates it. Put it on mute, he’s going!”
All the while, Cundy began making vomiting noises in the background as he continued to cheekily reinforce his serious dislike of the song.
But while Cundy does not appreciate the musical genius of Liverpool’s anthem, there was one song he quickly suggested as one he would happily listen to instead.
Cundy said he was far happier bopping along to The Liquidator at Stamford Bridge[/caption]
As the dulcet tones of Chelsea’s melodious song – The Liquidator – began to fill the studio, Cundy quickly hushed his co-host.
“Be quiet,” he cajoled. “See? No one ever stops when this comes on at Stamford Bridge. Do we? Everyone talks over The Liquidator.”
“It’s terrible. That’s why,” laughed O’Hara. “Who wants to be quiet for this? You Never Walk Alone is a classic. Come on, you’ve got to respect it. You’ve got to respect it.”
“No, no, fine,” Cundy replied, refusing to back down. “It’s fine if they’re Liverpool fans, but not everyone’s a Liverpool fan. It’s been shoved down our throats.”
But the Chelsea fan did concede there might be one other tiny reason why the song got on his nerves.
“(Liverpool) annoy me because they’re so good,” he admitted.
Naturally, having owned up to his hatred of the song, there was only one thing left to do.
The studio was next filled with a familiar sound as You’ll Never Walk Alone began playing, especially for Cundy.
The former defender had had enough though – and promptly removed his headphones, desperate not to hear the song again.
“Tell me when it’s off!” he shouted to producers as his co-host laughed at him. “Is it off?
“Yeah, it’s off,” replied a mischievous O’Hara.
Of course, it was not in fact off at all.
As Cundy put his headphones and the sound of his least-favourite anthem filled his ears, he quickly threw the headphones off again – and then threw his hands up in the air in mock anger as he laughed.
Speaking to another Liverpool fan about the same topic later in the show, Cundy once again tried to justify his reasoning.
“It’s played for you guys at the stadium and that’s fine,” he said. “I get it, right?
“And I would appreciate it if I was in the stadium. I’d appreciate it. But they go quiet on TNT. No one says a word. Put their mics down. It’s like it’s the National Anthem.
“And it goes on the whole thing and you’re going, alright, I get it. And it goes on. And you’re like, OK. And honestly, homing in on the crowd. It’s just rammed down your throat.
“At Anfield, it’s fine. And you know what? Don’t even mind them going quiet for every 30 seconds. It’s the whole bloody song. It’s ridiculous.”
