You’ll Never Walk Alone is more a song than a poem. What I mean by that is that there are many recorded versions of the song, but you won’t encounter it in an anthology of poems. The words are anaemic read on the page, but most of us hear the tune as we read the poem—and the song inspires, building to a crescendo. Britons associate it particularly with Liverpool Football Club, where 60 000 people sing it together, inspiring their team and dispiriting the opposition. Everybody in Britain knows the 1963 version by Gerry and the Pacemakers, but the song comes from the 1945 musical Carousel with music by Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) and words by Oscar Hammerstein (1895-1960).

The song/poem came into my mind because I’m about to leave for three days to walk the coast of the Gower Peninsula in Wales. Storm Amy is due to arrive at the same time as us, and heavy rain is forecast for the first two days and strong winds that merit a yellow weather warning for the second day. My plan is to “hold my head up high” as I “walk through a storm,” but I fear that I may soon wilt.

You’ll never walk alone by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers

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
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
For your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone