Any time that opposition supporters turn up at Anfield in order to watch their team take on Liverpool Football Club, they will be treated to a rendition of the club\u2019s anthem prior to kick-off. The home fans know it well enough to refer to it simply as \u2018YNWA\u2019, often doing so in the likes of graffiti and tattoos.<\/p>\n
The acronym is an easier way of talking about that anthem, which is You\u2019ll Never Walk Alone<\/em>. Of course, there is a big difference between what something means in a literal sense and what it means in what you might refer to as a spiritual way, which is how many Reds think of the song.<\/p>\n For fans of Liverpool FC, the club anthem is so much more than just a song. The club has endured more tragedies than most over the years, from the involvement of some in the deaths of 39 Juventus supporters at Heysel<\/a>, through to the unlawful killing of 97 Liverpool fans at Hillsborough. For the family and friends of those that died at Hillsborough, for example, You\u2019ll Never Walk Alone<\/em> is something that offers a real sense of hope, faith and togetherness. When Diogo Jota and his brother, Andr\u00e9 Silva, died in a car accident in 2025, the song became something to live by as far as their families were concerned.<\/p>\n The lyrics of the song, which was originally included in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel<\/em>, are such that they offer a message of hope and inclusion. The idea of walking through the storm with your head held high is something that Liverpool supporters have had to do countless times over the years. It has also felt as though there is indeed a golden sky at the end of the storm, thanks to success in the likes of the Premier League and the Champions League. For fans of the club, it isn\u2019t just a glib tune to sing along to before the game gets underway, but is instead a way of life to live by.<\/p>\n One of the things that a lot of Liverpool supporters might not think about is the fact that You\u2019ll Never Walk Alone<\/em> was written for a musical<\/a> that was first performed in 1945. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, whilst the lyrics were written by Oscar Hammerstein II. This means that the song is copyrighted and that performances of it will need to be paid to the estates of the pair responsible for its creation. In England, such payments are handled by the Performing Rights Society, which will take payment from organisations that see the song performed publicly and pay them to the rights holders.<\/p>\n As Liverpool fans have been singing You\u2019ll Never Walk Alone <\/em>since the 1960s, that is how long the club has been having to pay for the song\u2019s usage. It is also worth bearing in mind that the song is often played once officially over the tannoy, as well as sung by supporters towards the end of the match, both of which are liable to be paid for by the club on account of the fact that they are public performances of the tune.<\/p>\n I\u2019m ready to sing some musical theater songs and hymns for the Pride Service today: Love Who You Love from A Man of No Importance and You\u2019ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel.<\/p>\n [image or embed]<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Aaron Shanks (@aaronwshanks.bsky.social<\/a>) 29 June 2025 at 18:54<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Rather than pay for each individual performance, however, the club is likely to simply pay a flat fee to the PRS as blanket coverage for the use of the song in accordance with the club\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n Whilst Rodgers & Hammerstein wrote the song, the version that gets played before kick-off at Anfield is the one that was made famous by the Merseyside band Gerry & the Pacemakers. The English beat group was formed in Liverpool and came to prominence in the 1960s, swept along by the popularity of The Beatles at that time. Whilst the Performing Rights Society is responsible for ensuring that songwriters and composers of a song get what they\u2019re owed from a public performance, the job of making sure that performers and record companies get what they\u2019re owed falls to Phonographic Performance Limited<\/a>.<\/p>\nWhat YNWA Means to Liverpool Supporters<\/h2>\n
![\"players](\"https:\/\/www.friendsofliverpool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/players-line-up-in-front-of-kop-for-ynwa-after-liverpool-win-league-agains-tottenham-2025.jpg\")
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What it Means to Rodgers & Hammerstein\u2019s Estates<\/h2>\n
![\"Rodgers](\"https:\/\/www.friendsofliverpool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rodgers-and-Hammerstein-at-piano-300x263.jpg\")
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What it Means to Gerry & the Pacemakers<\/h2>\n
![\"Gerry](\"https:\/\/www.friendsofliverpool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Gerry-and-the-Pacemakers-group-photo-1964.jpg\")
![Photographer: Paul Schumach, Metropolitan Photo Service, New York City.<\/a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhilst Rodgers & Hammerstein wrote the song, the version that gets played before kick-off at Anfield is the one that was made famous by the Merseyside band Gerry & the Pacemakers. The English beat group was formed in Liverpool and came to prominence in the 1960s, swept along by the popularity of The Beatles at that time. Whilst the Performing Rights Society is responsible for ensuring that songwriters and composers of a song get what they\u2019re owed from a public performance, the job of making sure that performers and record companies get what they\u2019re owed falls to Phonographic Performance Limited<\/a>.<\/p>\n](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Gerry_and_the_Pacemakers_group_photo_1964.JPG\"){kind=link}