"You’ll Never Walk Alone"
When you walk through a storm hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of a storm is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never, ever walk alone.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never, ever walk alone.
"You'll Never Walk Alone" comes from the 1945 musical Carousel by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, set in a fishing community in Maine in the 1870s.
A questionable character, Billy Bigelow, originally a carousel barker, marries a mill worker, Julie, whom he does not treat well. He is out of a job and planning to leave her when he learns Julie is pregnant. This news prompts him to ponder the responsibilities of parenthood, but he foolishly decides to commit a robbery to help support his wife and child. Caught in the act, he stabs himself. As he dies in her arms, Julie’s cousin Nettie sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort Julie as she faces a bleak future.
Billy’s teenage daughter, Louise, has suffered from the circumstances of her upbringing and her father’s reputation as a thief and bully, and is going off the rails. After graduation, she plans to run away to join an acting troupe. Given a chance to redeem himself by returning to earth for a single day, Billy tries to make things right for Louise, but she rejects his gift of a star. The graduation speaker, Dr Seldon, offers the students encouraging words, which Billy wills Louise to heed, and then asks everyone to sing "You'll Never Walk Alone". Billy, still invisible, whispers to Louise, telling her to believe Seldon's words, and when she tentatively reaches out to another girl, she realises she does not have to be an outcast. Billy goes to Julie, telling her at last that he loved her. Julie and Louise join in the singing; Billy has been able to give them a sense of hope and dignity as his final act.
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is closely associated with Liverpool F.C. and, more recently, became an anthem of support for medical staff, first responders and those in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic.