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Jeff Daniels writes song about Detroit Lions 'Curse of Bobby Layne': Read the lyrics
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- Jeff Daniels writes song about Detroit Lions 'Curse of Bobby Layne': Read the lyrics
Michigan native and actor Jeff Daniels is credited with ending the Detroit Lions ' "Curse of Bobby Layne" thanks to a spell he and former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning performed in the end zone of Ford Field .
The lore is that Layne, the Lions ' longtime quarterback in the 1950s, cursed the team after he was traded one season after the Lions' last championship in 1957. In anger, he said he hexed the Lions , and that they wouldn't win a championship for another 50 years.
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It has been longer — 67 years and counting.
So Daniels and Manning tried to break the curse in 2022 by dunking Layne's helmet in a bathtub full of whiskey and reciting a proclamation on an episode of ESPN's "Peyton's Places."
More: How Jeff Daniels and Peyton Manning said goodbye to Lions curse of Bobby Layne
While the Lions still haven't won a championship, the team's fortunes turned around after the episode aired on Oct. 30, 2022.
They've gone 37-10 since it aired, appeared in the NFC championship game last season and are entering this year's playoffs after a bye week thanks to earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the first time ever.
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Daniels recently appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and performed a song he wrote about the curse and Lions' turnaround.
Jeff Daniels plays "The Curse of Bobby Layne" song about the Detroit Lions during an interview with "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.
It's called "The Curse of Bobby Layne" and he cut the song with the Ben Daniels Band — his son's group.
Here are the lyrics to the song.
More: Is Curse of Bobby Layne real? 1957 Detroit Lions say team's jinxed
The Curse of Bobby Layne song lyrics
"On my phone was Peyton Manning.
He said, 'Jeff, I feel your pain.'
Will you join me in exorcising the Curse of Bobby Layne?
Just like that, we started winning.
Just like that, we were playoff bound.
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Just like that, way up in heaven,
Bobby Layne turned around.
Say goodbye, to all that sorrow.
Say goodbye, to all that pain.
Say goodbye, to the Same Old Lions
And the curse of Bobby Layne.
Say goodbye, to all that sorrow.
Say goodbye, to all that pain.
Say goodbye, to the Same Old Lions
And the curse of Bobby Layne."
Detroit Free Press reporter Jared Ramsey and columnist Jeff Seidel contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jeff Daniels song lyrics about Detroit Lions 'Curse of Bobby Layne'
