Boris: Don’t ban Swing Low rugby anthem
BORIS Johnson yesterday joined a chorus of criticism after rugby chiefs said that they were considering asking England fans not to belt out Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.
The Prime Minister spoke out after the Rugby Football Union announced it was ‘reviewing’ the song due to its links to slavery. He said: ‘I certainly don’t think there should be any sort of prohibition on singing that song. My curiosity is: why don’t people seem to know the rest of it? I’d love to hear the rest of it.’
Speaking during a visit to a school, rugby fan Mr Johnson added: ‘I think people need to focus less on the symbols of discrimination... what I want to focus on is the substance of the issue.’
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is an AfricanAmerican spiritual thought to have been written by a freed slave called Wallace Willis in the mid-19th century. It is thought to have been sung by rugby fans for the first time at Twickenham Stadium in south-west London in the late 1980s in tribute to black England players Martin Offiah and Chris Oti.
But the Rugby Football Union this week announced a review of the song’s ‘historical context’ after the Black Lives Matter protests. Trevor Phillips, ex-head of the Commission for Racial Equality, yesterday criticised the move, suggesting it meant ‘black people’s own culture being cancelled’.
He said the last people to try to ban the song were the Nazis. The free speech campaigner, who chairs the Index on Censorship, added: ‘Please everyone, take a breath before you eliminate black lives from history.’ Former England women’s rugby player Maggie Alphonsi, 36, said she did not want the song to be banned. She added: ‘It’s not my place to tell people to stop singing it, because you have to educate people and let them make that decision. The song does not sit easy with me when I hear it, because I now know the connections with it.
‘But I also know that people singing it today are not singing it to offend. I support the RFU for going away and actually conducting a review around it. I think the discussions will lead on to whether or not it should be banned. I personally don’t think it should be banned.’
But ex-England and Lions hooker Brian Moore said he ‘hated’ the song, tweeting: ‘This was sung in rugby clubs when I was still a colt and well before Martin Offiah and Chris Oti played senior rugby. It was sung because of the rude gestures that went with it and without any thoughts of its origins. Amongst other reasons for the RFU encouraging people not to sing it, one of the main ones is that most people only know two verses and it’s c**p as a national song because it has no relevance to England.’
Lyrics to the song are inscribed on the walls at Twickenham. It is unclear if plaques could be put up explaining its origin. The RFU hopes to ‘accelerate change and grow awareness’ but has acknowledged how much of a battle cry the song is among fans.
A spokesman said: ‘The song has long been part of the culture of rugby and is sung by many who have no awareness of its origins or its sensitivities. We are reviewing its historical context and our role in educating fans to make informed decisions.’