There is no doubt that the world today has become a very confusing place as we see individuals and committees make decisions that they believe are in the public interest and are politically correct, but ultimately leave everyone shaking their heads.
First up we heard the news that the Tom Jones classic “Delilah” has been removed from the Principality Stadium choirs’ playlist, by the Welsh Rugby Union.
Delilah was recorded by Sir Tom in 1968. It reached No. 2 in the charts before going on to become a Welsh favourite among the rugby-loving public. In recent years the content of the song has come under debate as. one line reads: “I crossed the street to her house and she opened the door; she stood there laughing, I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more.”
The statement from the Welsh Rugby Union reads “The WRU condemns domestic violence of any kind. We have previously sought advice from subject matter experts on the issue of censoring the song and we are respectfully aware that it is problematic and upsetting to some supporters because of its subject matter.”
So where will this all end?
Music and songs have for many many, many years been a form of expression, like a book, a painting, a film or a poem. Invariably they are created to share a tale, a story or an event. Whatever the event being written about it does not necessarily mean that the singer or the song writer condones the acts within the song. Does Stephen King condone the behaviours of the characters in his books?
Imagine if every song that referred to drug taking, violence, sexual assault or revenge were suddenly banned from being played on the airwaves. Radio stations would shut their doors overnight. Would the 1812 overture ever be allowed to be played in public again? As to some it is a celebration of war!
In 1979 the Boomtown Rats released “I Don’t Like Mondays” this was a song about the 1979 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego. The song went to number one and stayed there for four weeks. It was one of the best selling singles of the year. So should this and many other songs like it be banned too?
Sir Bob Geldof wrote the song after seeing the telex of the news of the shooting come through when he was doing a radio interview. He could not belief it when he heard 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer who went on the shooting spree say to journalists that the reason for her actions was “I don’t like Mondays. This livens up the day.” Geldof has said “It was the perfect senseless act and this was the perfect senseless reason for doing it. So perhaps I wrote the perfect senseless song to illustrate it. It wasn’t an attempt to exploit tragedy.”
So did everyone who bought that single condone the actions of the killer? Of course not. So it should not be banned, but it will no doubt face scrutiny today like so many others being interpreted as supporting the topic in the song. Where will it all end? Books will soon need to be banned, and newspapers censored for fear that those reading, like those listening or singing to the lyrics of a song may by those two acts be accused of condoning the actions of the person about whom the song is talking.
Be warned the legendary Queen anthem “Bohemian Rhapsody” could well soon be for the chopping block too, for remember its lyrics, “Mama, Just killed a man, Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, Now he’s dead.” What may save this song are its opening lines, “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?”
Banning Delilah is ridiculous. Now it is going to result in the many thousands of Welsh rugby fans belting it out with even more passion than normal, to send a two fingered salute to those in the boardroom who made the decision to ban it.
While the Welsh were getting hot under their collar there was a far more real issue being thrown in the lap of the Australian and New Zealand Football Federations, organisers of this years FIFA Women’s World Cup. It has been reported that both Associations have written to FIFA seeking urgent clarification after reports that Saudi Arabia’s tourism authority had signed a sponsorship deal for the global event.
It was reported in The Guardian that ‘Visit Saudi’ would be joining Adidas, Coca Cola, and Visa as the event’s major sponsors. FIFA having entered into a “destination partnership agreement” with Saudi Arabia.
Not surprisingly reports of the sponsorship deal have brought a scathing response from human rights activists.
This is an issue. How can anyone possibly think that it is a good idea to have Saudi’s tourism body sponsor arguably the largest celebration of women’s sport in the world, when as a woman in Saudi Arabia, your freedoms are restricted. A woman cannot even have a job without the permission of her male guardian.
So where does this place Australia and New Zealand? If they allow FIFA to have this sponsorship in their stadia and their countries would they be seen as condoning the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia? Are they within their rights to take a stand and refuse to allow such advertising? Or when they look at the hosting contract that they signed do they have absolutely no control over whom FIFA allows as a sponsor?
Fans in their masses will probably say they don’t agree with it, but will still watch the tournament as they are not interested in such issues, as was clear in Qatar. So whatever the feelings of some, the majority simply want to watch the game. Their protest will simply be not visiting Saudi.
Both issues have garnered media coverage in the last 24 hours, but which in truth deserves more attention? In truth both should never have even become issues as in the past common-sense would have prevailed.
