The Welsh Rugby Union's decision to remove Sir Tom Jones hit and Welsh rugby anthem Delilah from choirs' setlists at the Principality Stadium has caused a stir this week.
There have been calls to ditch Welsh rugby's association with the iconic 1968 ballad for some time due to its portrayal of domestic violence. The song details a male jealous lover killing his unfaithful female partner. One line from the controversial lyrics 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 debate has sparked a strong public reaction each time it has been raised.
The WRU actually removed Delilah from its half-time entertainment and music playlist during international matches in 2015, while also requesting guest choirs not to sing it more recently, so the song's gradual erasure from official matchday entertainment does not come as a sudden shock.
But it has prompted an emotive response: frustration from a number of fans and former and current players, and praise from others have backed the decision to cut the song given its controversial lyrics.
The ban of the song, one of Sir Tom's best-known hits, comes at a time of great change with a review under way at the WRU in the wake of damning sexism, misogyny and racism allegations, which prompted the resignation of chief executive Steve Phillips and the promise of an external taskforce to review the governing body's culture and behaviours.
Here is a flavour of what the reaction to the Delilah ban has been:
WRU
A Principality Stadium spokesperson said of the decision: “Delilah will not feature on the playlist for choirs for rugby internationals at Principality Stadium. The WRU removed the song from its half-time entertainment and music play list during international matches in 2015. Guest choirs have also more recently been requested not to feature the song during their pre-match performances and throughout games.
“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.”
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Players
Current Wales player Louis Rees-Zammit shared a pointed message after the ban was confirmed, tweeting: "All the things they need to do and they do that first..."
Wales and British and Irish Lions legend Mike Phillips was not convinced the ban would prevent fans from singing the song anyway. "So what happens if 77,000 people do start singing Delilah? Crazy," he wrote on Twitter.
Wales legend Shane Williams explained during a radio appearance that he understood where the WRU were coming from, and said if it wasn't banned maybe they would have received criticism. However, the former world player of the year also said as a player it was something he always enjoyed singing, and he never read into the lyrics very much.
"As a player it used to get the crowd going, it used to get the team going," he said. "We could feel the crowd behind us and we knew they were there to help us win the match. I have good memories of this song, plus other Welsh songs as well. So it's a very difficult one for me, really."
Police
The Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police, Dr Richard Lewis, backed the decision, saying "it's time to sing something else".
His force launched a major domestic abuse campaign at the end of last year encouraging victims of domestic abuse to come forward saying speaking out “could change your life.”
Speaking about the reaction to the news, Dr Lewis said on Twitter: "There’s been a lot of misplaced criticism of this decision to stop singing ‘Delilah’. The song depicts the murder of a woman by a jealous partner For context, approx 2 women a week are murdered by a partner or ex-partner It’s time to sing something else."
Sir Tom Jones
Almost a decade ago, Sir Tom spoke of his pride in the song being sung at rugby matches, and argued that people don't really think about the lyrics in a 2014 interview with The Independent. He also performed the song at his Principality Stadium concerts with Stereophonics in the summer of 2022.
“I love to hear it sung at rugby games," Sir Tom is quoted as saying. "It makes me very proud to be Welsh. I think if they're looking into the lyric about a man killing a woman, it's not a political statement. It's just something that happens in life [and] he just loses it.
“The great thing about the song that everyone picks up on is the chorus. I don't think that they are really thinking about it. I wasn't thinking 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 it's going to be taken literally like that then I think it takes the fun out of it. I think it takes the spirit out why it's being sung.”
Media
Controversial TV presenter Piers Morgan ridiculed the WRU's ban on choirs singing Delilah, saying: "Should we stop watching Happy Valley too?".
Hit BBC show Happy Valley involves several storylines of violence towards women, and is a critically-acclaimed show that is viewed by millions.
TalkSPORT also discussed the issue on their morning show with Simon Jordan and Jim White. Former Crystal Palace owner Jordan made his views especially clear.
"It's pathetic. This is a song based on a biblical character that exists in fact, right? So unless we're going to airbrush this from people's perception of what Delilah and Samson was, we're in a ridiculous scenario. It's pathetic. It's nonsense.
"We have a sporting body that has an issue with its behaviour, and it chooses to target a song that no one is taking the meaning of, no one is looking beyond the spirit of the song in terms of its value to a Welsh rugby union and its gameplay, and the players, and the atmosphere inside the stadium. Where next? It's ridiculous, it's nonsense, it's virtue signalling and it's completely unnecessary."
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