… which is a line from a popular song called “Delilah”, originally sung by Sir Tom Jones (and sung by countless people all over the World). And apparently, Choirs performing at international rugby matches in Wales have been banned from singing the Tom Jones classic. Why? Because the lyrics describe the murder of a young woman by her jealous partner. This is seen as normalising violence against women and so it’s been banned.
Now, I fully understand that the song is about a jealous man murdering his wife. But let us not lose sight of the fact that it’s fictional. It isn’t real. It’s a totally made up set of lyrics (written by Barry Mason, incidentally) to create some drama in a song. And it’s a good sing-a-long song – I have sung along to it many a time in the odd Bier Keller or two. Did I ever think that it was trivialising violence against women? No. It’s just a song and it’s a good one. Why, do you suppose, it was chosen as an anthem in the first place? For the lyrics? No. It was for the tune.
And what about Bizet’s Carmen (the opera)? Poor old Carmen gets killed by her lover in a fit of jealous rage too. That opera has been performed several times by now I would imagine. Several (it’s my favourite opera). Did it affect me? No, because it’s a story and it’s not real. Get a bloody grip.