Why, why, why must you sing Delilah, asks MP
Labour politician calls for Welsh rugby fans’ favourite to be banned, claiming it glorifies domestic violence
IT IS a karaoke favourite, a communal crowd pleaser that lifts the spirits of all those who belt out its lyrics, from the crowds in the rugby stands to senior members of the Royal family.
But Chris Bryant, the shadow leader of the Commons, has called for Sir Tom Jones’s classic Delilah to be banned from Six Nations rugby matches, claim- ing that it glorifies domestic violence. The ballad about an unfaithful woman and her death at the hands of her lover was a hit in the Sixties and has become an unofficial Welsh rugby anthem.
Sir Tom, 75, has even declared that anyone who takes the lyrics too literally is taking all the fun and the spirit out of it, insisting that hearing the song sung at games made him proud to be Welsh.
But Mr Bryant claims that times have moved on and has asked supporters to ditch the song when Wales play Ireland tomorrow. “I know that some people will say, ‘Oh, here we go, he’s a terrible spoilsport,’ but the truth is that that song is about the murder of a prostitute,” he said. “I have sung as well – everybody loves doing the ‘She stood there laughing’ moment – but if we are really going to take this issue seriously in Wales, we have to change how we do things.”
Mr Bryant, who was giving a speech on domestic violence in Westminster, added: “It is a simple fact that when there are big international rugby matches on, and sometimes football matches as well, the number of domestic violence incidents rises dramatically.”
The call received a mixed response but large numbers of rugby fans reacted angrily, insisting that the song was a part of Welsh culture.
Fans of the song apparently include the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, who sang along lustily as Sir Tom performed the hit at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert in 2012. Sir Tom has defended the song, stating that no one was really thinking about the lyrics when they sang it. “I wasn’t think- ing that I was the man that was killing the girl when I was singing the song, I was acting out the part and that’s what the song is.
“If its going to be taken literally like that then I think it takes the fun out of it.”
When the subject came up at last year’s Rugby World Cup, Sylvan Whittingham, the song’s writer, also waded into the row, saying: “Delilah is no more likely to cause domestic violence than listening to Mack the Knife would cause you to stab a prostitute.”
She added that she had written new lyrics: “They can’t stop Delilah, we won’t drop Delilah, they can try, but pigs are more likely to fly.”