There are some songs that make sense, either because of the subject matter or because the tune is one that everyone knows. Other songs tend to only be sung from time to time and not everyone inside Anfield will know precisely what the history of the song is or where it came from. It is probably fair to say that We’ll Be Coming Down the Road is one that fits into the latter category.
It is a song that tends to get an airing inside Anfield when the Reds are playing well or when they’re up against a rival that could do with reminding who we are as a football club and what we’ve achieved over the years.
A Song About Inevitability
During the latter part of the 1970s into the 1980s, Liverpool were inevitable. Even if the Reds started the season badly, most people knew that they would still be part of the conversation come the end of the campaign. That is summed up by the lyrics of this song, which talk about Liverpool ‘coming down the road’. There is also a reference to the fact that opponents will be able to ‘head the noise’ being created by the Liverpool fans, such is the extent to which the Kop and the travelling Kop have been able to influence the outcome of a game time and time again.
Obviously, the reference to Bill Shankly draws attention to the fact that the Reds have been formed into the club that they are today by the inimitable Scot, which is why we’re still considered to be the ‘Bill Shankly Boys’, decades after he left his role as manager. It is best to ignore the implied sexism of it being the Scot’s ‘boys’ rather than including the countless women and non-binary people who like to get behind the Reds. If you want to, you can imagine that it is instead a reference to the players, rather than the supporters.
Here are the words that are belted out by the fans when they’re in the mood to do so:
We’ll be coming,
We’ll be coming,
We’ll be coming down the road!
When you hear the noise
Of the Bill Shankly boys,
We’ll be coming down the road!
(Repeat)
