Don't Come Home Too Soon; Re-evaluated

Del Amitri's Scotland World Cup song from 1998

When Scotland beat Denmark in that dramatic game to reach the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, my thoughts immediately turned to my favourite band. Admittedly I think about Del Amitri a lot, as they are a very important part of my life (see previous blog). What many people had forgotten was that the official song when Scotland last reached a World Cup was by Del Amitri. But 'Don't Come Home Too Soon' was and remains divisive to say the least.

When it was first released I was working in radio and had been lucky over the previous few years to playlist and feature on my own show Del Amitri songs. By 1998 Del Amitri's brief moment of fame was beginning to fade though. Commercial radio stations no longer automatically put their songs on rotation. So it seemed great that the band I wanted to do well and be successful were suddenly getting some new publicity for this song. The story goes that someone at the SFA was just as much of a fan as I was. They got in touch with Justin Currie and asked if he had anything they could use or he could adapt.

If you know Del Amitri beyond the radio giant 'Roll To Me', you will know that they are not known for uplifting. So it cannot have been much of a surprise to those that 'commissioned' it that JC turned out a ballad with a reflective theme. As soon as I heard the song I was worried. I didn't love it and was embarrassed that 'my' band had released it. In the radio station where I worked the response from the Programme Controller was 'this is just dirge'. And they weren't alone.

Apparently the band suffered some abuse over the song, and things got a lot worse after Scotland did 'come home too soon' after a World Cup where they finished bottom of their group, with just two goals and a draw to show for their efforts. The fans, as always, were amazing, but some turned their anger from players and manager to THAT song. I even remember someone saying it set the tone for the failed campaign! Even now if you search for the song on Google a top result is a Reddit thread about 'The Worst Song Ever'.

But three decades later I have changed my view completely. Without the context of the World Cup, 'Don't Come Home Too Soon' is a lovely little ballad, with Justin's voice sounding as good as it's ever done. Yes there's still that line about coming home on that 'stupid plane' but it makes me smile now not wince. It is certainly not the worst song ever. It's not even the worst football song ever. That crown can be fought out between the likes of Chico, Ant & Dec or Kevin Keegan. There's even a cracking video, which is worth watching again, even if it's just to see JC looking gorgeous with short hair!

So 'Don't Come Too Soon', which hadn't even made my Top 102 Del Amitri songs a year ago, has now been promoted into that list. At number 101 I might add. Listening to it more over the last week my love for it has increased. All I would ask is that Justin doesn't pick up the phone if the SFA comes calling again!