You'll Never Walk Alone - A Song for the Times

Steve Phillips of Concord Music Publishing explains why this Rodgers & Hammerstein classic resonates so much in today's world...

I feel lucky to have been born into a relatively calm and peaceful world. The twentieth century had two world wars to contend with. I missed those. I never had to do national service, and I’m now too old to be conscripted into an army (I think).

As I sit at my kitchen table writing this, confined by an unexpected and unwanted virus spreading through the world, I thank my lucky stars that I am still able to work. I know that’s not true for a lot of people.

A large part of our work at Concord Music Publishing is marketing the songs we own to film makers – be it feature films, computer games, or brands making commercials. We want the songs to be used to soundtrack their work, and help tell the story.

Right now the evergreen Rodgers & Hammerstein song ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is high on the list of inquiries we receive from around the globe.

Rodgers & Hammerstein - the creators of wonderful musicals such as Oklahoma!, The Sound Of Music, The King And I and many others have gifted us many wonderful songs to work with – from My Favorite Things to Getting To Know You – we are lucky to be the custodians of such a wonderful body of work.

Why does You’ll Never Walk Alone resonate so much with people?

Originally composed for the 1945 musical Carousel , the most well known association of course is Liverpool Football club's adoption of the Gerry And The Pacemakers recording of the song as its anthem in 1963. Every home game receives a rendition from the fans before the start of the game.

Although the coronavirus has interrupted Liverpool’s crowning as Premier League champions, the song has also been adopted across the globe in support of people affected by the virus – from many European radio stations playing the song simultaneously in support of healthcare workers, to Marcus Mumford’s new recording to raise funds through the Grenfell Foundation and Warchild charities.

At a time when the world more than ever needs to work together and for its people to help and support each other in order to come through this storm, the song’s themes of perseverance and inclusiveness are more relevant than ever.