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Delilah (Tom Jones song)
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Wikipedia article
"'Delilah'" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Tom Jones in December 1967. The lyrics were written by Barry Mason, and the music by Les Reed, who also contributed the title and theme of the song. It earned Reed and Mason the 1968 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.Lister, David, 'Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion', The Independent, 28 May 1994
Music and lyrics
Although the song is a soulful number set in triple metre, the underlying genre may be considered to be a power ballad. Produced by Peter Sullivan, Jones's version features a big-band accompaniment set to a flamenco rhythm. The pitch of the final note is A4. Flamenco was a surprising choice, since there is no reference to Spain anywhere in the song. Possibly, it was because of similarities to the plot of "Carmen", in which Don Jos stabs Carmen to death when she tells him she is leaving him for another man.
The song tells the story of a man who passes his girlfriend's window and sees her inside making love to another man. He waits outside all night, and then confronts her in the morning, only to have her laugh in his face. He stabs her to death, and then waits for the police to come break down the door and arrest him. The lyrics unfold from the killer's point of view, and are filled with his, often contradictory, emotions. He speaks of Delilah in possessive terms, but also refers to himself as her "slave." He asks his dead girlfriend to "forgive" him, but still clearly sees himself as having been wronged by her.
When Jones performed the song on 'The Ed Sullivan Show', the censors insisted that the line "At break of day when the man drove away" be changed to "At break of day I was still 'cross the way", as the original version implied he had spent the night with Delilah. Jones later described the change as "such bullshit".
In a two-year court case in The High Court of Justice, 1983 -M- No.1566 , Barry Mason's ex-wife Sylvan Whittingham, the daughter of Bond film 'Thunderball' screenwriter, Jack Whittingham, claimed she had written half the lyrics of "Delilah" and several other songs. The legal battle was settled out of court in 1986.
Chart performance
Tom Jones' recording reached No. 1 in the charts of several countries, including Germany and Switzerland. It reached No 2 in the British charts in March 1968 and was the sixth-best selling single of that year. The US 'Billboard' chart records its highest position as 15.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
Miscellaneous uses
Rugby
Welsh rugby fans have sung "Delilah" as an unofficial anthem since at least as early as the 1970s; it was referred to in the lyrics of one of the verses of Max Boyce's "Hymns and Arias": "We sang 'Cwm Rhondda' and 'Delilah', damn they sounded both the same". Tom Jones performed it before Wales's rugby victory over England at Wembley Stadium in 1999. As of 2003, the Welsh Rugby Union played the song in Millennium Stadium before matches; the words to the song were shown on the big screens and the crowd sang along.In 2014, Dafydd Iwan, former president of the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru, called for Welsh rugby supporters to stop singing "Delilah" at matches, asserting that the song "trivialise[s] the idea of murdering a woman". Jones dismissed Iwan's claims, stating: "I dont think [singers] are really thinking about it If its going to be taken literally, I think it takes the fun out of it." Prior to the 2016 Six Nations Championship rugby tournament, Welsh MP Chris Bryant claimed that the song was about the murder of a prostitute, and requested that the song not be sung by Welsh rugby fans as the lyrics glorify violence towards women.
Association Football
Supporters of Stoke City adopted "Delilah" as their club anthem in the 1990s. It was adopted by the fans after a supporter was heard singing it in a local pub. Some of the song's original lyrics were adapted for the football terraces, but the essence of the song remained the same.Film
The song featured in the 1990 film 'Edward Scissorhands'.Burton, Tim (1990), Edward Scissorhands, 20th Century Fox In the 2005 film 'Romance and Cigarettes', the original recording plays on a jukebox while Christopher Walken sings along and mimes the action. In the 2013 film 'American Hustle', the song plays at a bar while Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner sing along. The chorus of the song was referenced in the movie 'Hercules Returns'. The song is featured prominently in the film 'Dream Horse'.TV
In the "Stage Fright" episode of 'Only Fools and Horses', Tony Angelino, theSinging Dustman, is seen performing the song during his performance at the Down by the Riverside Club. As Tony suffers from rhotacism, he makes minor adaptations to the lyrics to eliminate R sounds.
In the "Homer the Heretic" episode of 'The Simpsons', Homer sings the chorus while showering, seemingly pleased with himself for getting out of going to church.
In the 14th episode of 'Raising Hope', "What Up, Cuz?", the song appears in a flashback showing the young Virginia Chance with her cousin Delilah.
In the first episode of the 2012 British comedy series 'Citizen Khan', Khan sings the song over the mosque speakers, much to the amusement of several fellow worshippers.
Music
According to Philip Norman's 2001 biography of Elton John, John provided background vocals on this song.On 4 June 2012 Jones performed the song for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert.
References
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