Delilah (Tom Jones song)

"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.[1]

"Delilah"
Single by Tom Jones
from the album Delilah
B-side"Smile"
ReleasedFebruary 1968
Recorded20 December 1967
StudioDecca, London
GenrePop, murder ballad
Length3:20
LabelDecca (UK/Ireland)
Parrot (North America)
Songwriter(s)Les Reed
Barry Mason
Producer(s)Peter Sullivan
Tom Jones singles chronology
"I'm Coming Home"
(1967)		 "Delilah"
(1968)		 "Help Yourself"
(1968)

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, rising to a pitch of A4 on the final note. Produced by Peter Sullivan, Jones' version features a big-band accompaniment set to a flamenco rhythm. Flamenco was a surprising choice, since there is no reference to Spain anywhere in the song. There are similarities to the plots of the operas Carmen by French composer Georges Bizet and Pagliacci by Italian composer Ruggero Leoncavallo. In Carmen, Don José stabs the eponymous Romani woman to death when she tells him she is leaving him for the bullfighter, Escamillo. In Pagliacci, Canio stabs both his adulterous wife, Nedda, and her lover, Silvio, to death.

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, in 1968[2] the censors (unsuccessfully) attempted to insist 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 proposed change as "such bullshit".[3][4]

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.[5][6]

Chart performance

Tom Jones' recording reached No. 1 in the charts of several countries, including Germany and Switzerland.[7] It reached No 2 in the British charts in March 1968 and was the sixth-best selling single of that year.[8] The US Billboard chart records its highest position as 15.[9]

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1968) Peak
position
Australia (Go-Set)[10] 3
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 1
Canada (RPM)[13] 5
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 1
French Singles Chart[15] 1
Ireland (IRMA)[16] 1
Italian Singles Chart (Musica e Dischi)[17] 11
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 1
New Zealand (Listener)[20] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[21] 2
Singapore Singles Chart[17] 6
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[22] 1
Spain (AFYVE)[17] 2
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[23] 2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[25] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 15
West Germany (Official German Charts)[27] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (1968) Rank
Switzerland [28] 5
UK [29] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[30] 66

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany — 200,000[31]
United Kingdom
1968 physical sales 		— 500,000[32]
United Kingdom (BPI)[33]
sales since 2006 		Silver 200,000‡
Yugoslavia — 200,000[34]
Summaries
Worldwide — 5,000,000[32]

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Use in Welsh rugby

Shortly after its release, "Delilah" became an unofficial anthem in Welsh rugby. As early as 1971, Max Boyce's own hit song, Hymns and Arias referenced "Delilah"'s popularity alongside more traditional Welsh hymns:

"We sang Cwm Rhondda and Delilah; damn, they sounded both the same".[35]

The song's popularity saw it become part of official matchday performances at Wales matches, especially those at the old National Stadium. On 17 April 1999, Jones performed Delilah as part of the pre-match build-up to Wales' victory over England at Wembley Stadium in the 1999 Five Nations Championship.[36]

Controversy

The Welsh Rugby Union regularly played the song at the Millennium Stadium before international matches, often displaying the lyrics on large screens. On 20 June 2003, Senedd Member Helen Mary Jones publicly raised concerns that the song "glorifies violence against women". The song's co-writer, Barry Mason, responded to Jones' criticism, stating: "It's sad, isn't it? She's being silly. To say fans are wrong to sing Delilah insults their intelligence. Nobody listens to the lyrics. This woman would be better off talking about unemployment in Wales." The Welsh Rugby Union replied that their use of the song was in response to public demand, adding: "Fans sing this song without concern for the lyrics."[37]

Politician and folk singer Dafydd Iwan; his article started a national debate on the use of the song in rugby.

Further criticism of the song's use in Welsh rugby came in 2014, when politician and singer Dafydd Iwan wrote an article on the meaning of song lyrics. Iwan noted that choirs and fans inside the stadium would sing Delilah alongside his own folk song, "Yma o Hyd", and the Christian hymns "Cwm Rhondda" and "Calon Lân". Iwan stated that while each song was "great to sing", the four together formed a strange mix.[38] Iwan's article stated that while he had written "Yma o Hyd" about the historic survival of the Welsh nation against all odds, Delilah was "a song about murder and it does tend to trivialise the idea of murdering a woman and it's a pity these words now have been elevated to the status of a secondary national anthem. I think we should rummage around for another song instead of 'Delilah'".[39]

Iwan's article led to much debate across the UK, with The Guardian erroneously reporting that Iwan was calling for the song to be banned. In a BBC interview, Tom Jones responded to the debate by saying that the song was "not a political statement" and that "I love to hear it being sung at Welsh games, it makes me very proud to be Welsh that they're using one of my songs." The Welsh Rugby Union also responded that they had condemned "violence against women" and had "taken a lead role in police campaigns to highlight and combat the issue." A spokesman added that the organisation was "willing to listen to any strong public debate on the issue of censoring the use of Delilah but we have not been aware of any groundswell of opinion on this matter". They also compared the lyrics to other well-known tragedies, such as Romeo and Juliet.[40][41] Following these responses, Iwan wrote a letter to the Guardian pointing out their error, adding that "banning songs is not something I would ever advocate."[42]

Response

In 2015, the Welsh Rugby Union removed the song from its half-time entertainment and playlist for international matches. The Union again clarified their position on 1 February 2023, prior to the start of the 2023 Six Nations Championship. The Union reiterated that "Delilah" was no longer included in playlists for Wales matches and that guest choirs had also been requested not to feature the song in more recent years. This announcement was immediately criticised by some, including Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit, who tweeted: "All the things they need to do and they do that first…" The statement was seen by some as a response to allegations of a "toxic culture" within the WRU, raised in a BBC Wales documentary.[43][44] Richard Marx performed the song live in Cardiff the following evening. Marx opened his performance of the song by stating that "I am not remotely minimising violence, or especially violence against women, but there are a lot of things that we all could be doing to help the situation, other than banning Delilah."[45]

The Welsh Rugby Union's actions were commended by the Chief Constable of Dyfed–Powys Police,[46] while singer Nick Cave stated: "I can't get too animated by the fact that Delilah has been banned. I understand there is a principle here, but on some level I like the fact that some songs are controversial enough to be outlawed. It fills me with a kind of professional pride to be a part of the sometimes contentious business of songwriting. It's cool. I just wish it was a more worthy song to be awarded that greatest of honours, indeed that supreme privilege, of being banned." After watching an online video of a Welsh male voice choir singing the song, Cave added "I'm sorry to report that listening to this version of the song did make me feel like murdering someone, primarily the Welsh male choir. Or maybe it wasn't the choir, but the song itself that disturbed me – I just don’t like it."[47][48]

In July 2023, Jones performed the song as part of three concerts held at Cardiff Castle. In the first show, Jones addressed the crowd with an apparent reproval of the WRUs stance: "Who was the man who didn’t want us to sing Delilah? You can’t stop us singing Delilah. He stopped the choir from singing but he didn’t stop the crowd from singing it. And we will keep singing it too!" This was greeted with cheers from the crowd before Jones' rendition of the song.[49]

Other uses

Association Football

Supporters of Stoke City adopted "Delilah" as their club anthem. The origins are disputed with one version dating it precisely to an away game at Derby on 11 April 1987. Others claim it was sung by Stoke City fans as early as the mid 1970s. Some of the song's original lyrics were adapted for the football terraces,[50] but the essence of the song remained the same.[51]

Film

The song featured in the 1990 film Edward Scissorhands.[52]

Music

On 4 June 2012 Jones performed the song for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert.[53]

References
  1. Lister, David, Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion, The Independent, 28 May 1994
  2. "Tom Jones". Ed Sullivan Show. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  3. Jones, Tom (October 8, 2015). Over the Top and Back: The Autobiography. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 9780718180706 – via Google Books.
  4. Malone, Aubrey (August 9, 2012). Still Rockin' - Tom Jones, A Biography. Y Lolfa. ISBN 9781847715814 – via Google Books.
  5. "Barry Mason obituary". the Guardian. April 26, 2021.
  6. McCarthy, James (February 20, 2016). "'It's a ****ing hit!' Delilah writer after penning Tom Jones' smash". WalesOnline. "The Delilah lyrics were written in an office belonging to Stuart Reid, of Chappel Music, at 19 St George Street, London, from a tape recording of the melody and chorus line of 'Aye, aye, aye Delilah'," Sylvan said.
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  8. "Chart Archive". www.Everyhit.com. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  9. "Billboard - Music Charts, News, Photos & Video". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
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  12. "Tom Jones – Delilah" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  13. "Song title 531 - Delilah". April 22, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-04-22.
  14. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  15. "Hits of the World". Billboard. 25 May 1968. p. 51. Retrieved 5 June 2021 – via Google Books.
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  19. "Tom Jones – Delilah" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
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  22. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts (J)". www.rock.co.za.
  23. "Låtarna från Kvällstoppen 30 juli 1968". NostalgiListan.
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  28. "Swiss Year-End Charts 1968 - swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com.
  29. "Sixties City - Pop Music Charts - Every Week Of The Sixties". www.sixtiescity.net.
  30. "Top 100 Hits of 1968/Top 100 Songs of 1968". www.musicoutfitters.com.
  31. "Cash Box - Germany" (PDF). Cashbox. 11 May 1968. p. 62. Retrieved 13 November 2020 – via World Radio History.
  32. Murrells, Joseph (1985). Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory. Arco Pub. p. 264. ISBN 0668064595. Released on 23 February 1968, it sold well over half a million in Britain .... global sales totalled five million
  33. "British single certifications – Tom Jones – Delilah". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  34. Prevignano, Daniele (6 June 1970). "Yugoslav Record industry Expands In Many Directions - Plants, Studios". Billboard. p. 76. Retrieved 13 November 2020 – via Google Books.
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  36. "Wales v England 1999 Wembley Part 1". YouTube. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
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  39. Khomami, Nadia (11 December 2014). "Welsh rugby fans asked to stop singing Tom Jones' 'Delilah' due to controversial lyrics". NME. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
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  42. Iwan, Dafydd (17 December 2014). "I didn't campaign for Tom Jones's Delilah to be banned". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
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  44. James, Ben (1 February 2023). "Louis Rees-Zammit posts pointed message after WRU ban Delilah from stadium". Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  45. Prince, David (3 February 2023). "Singer Richard Marx performs Delilah to huge applause at Cardiff's St David's Hall". Wales Online. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  46. Owen, Cathy (2 February 2023). "Top police officer lays out the reason fans should not sing Delilah". Wales Online. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  47. Bevan, Nathan (14 February 2023). "Tom Jones' Delilah is 'ugly' and 'sucks' says Nick Cave". Wales Online. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  48. "ISSUE #222 / FEBRUARY 2023". The Red Hand Files. February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
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  51. "Stoke City fans back Tom Jones's Delilah to top charts". BBC. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  52. Burton, Tim (1990), Edward Scissorhands, 20th Century Fox
  53. "BBC One - The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, The Diamond Jubilee Concert, Tom Jones performs a medley of hits". BBC. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
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