Swing low Sweet chariot

It's a nice idea but won't work . Sport is effectively culture , it forms naturally like songs at a Barnsley match . You can't hold a committee , decide what folk should sing then try and foisture it on people . To your initial point that rugby songs are formed in a demeaning way . I'd change the " are " to "were" . That any potential racial undertones have been lost to history I would say is progress ; not that it matters now because that progress has now probably been undone . It doesn't take much figuring out to see what song will be sung at Tommy Robinson's next meet up .

 

It's a nice idea but won't work . Sport is effectively culture , it forms naturally like songs at a Barnsley match . You can't hold a committee , decide what folk should sing then try and foisture it on people . To your initial point that rugby songs are formed in a demeaning way . I'd change the " are " to "were" . That any potential racial undertones have been lost to history I would say is progress ; not that it matters now because that progress has now probably been undone . It doesn't take much figuring out to see what song will be sung at Tommy Robinson's next meet up .

 

We can but try , I’d say something will be done as I’d imagine a fair proportion of the crowd with knowing the implications would eventually stop anyway imo or at least it would die down to a few hundred or less .
Maybe one of the old rugby songs could be reinvented ? Whatever they’ll be the old complaints of “we can’t even sing nar” but compromise doesn’t have to be traumatic imo .

 

That's a fair point.

I was in that system between 93-01 and the lack of BAME players is only something that I've come to think about recently.

The talent was clearly there, I've lost count of the number of times I've had my arse handed to me my an Asian or a Black player.

But when contracts were handed out?

I didn't see it.

 

Same here mate between 1994-97 and can honestly say I got hit to all parts by some cracking BAME batsmen.
I made a comeback in early 2000s and walked into bat at number 7 against a certain Mr Weekes. Worst 24 balls of my life. Was praying he'd bowl a middle stump yorker just so I could miss it.

 

As always I'm probably being daft but what is the negative thing about swing low sweet chariot? I know it was written by a freed slave but isnt that in itself a good thing?

 

He's a great bloke is Les.

Still going strong these days - up at Whiston now I believe.

 

All I think is being said right now is that the song was written by a freed slave as you say, but that people dont know these were the song's roots.

 

Is that a problem though not to know who wrote it? Reviewing it's suitableness suggests that at least some people have a problem with it which I'm struggling to understand as I can't really see anything negative about the song

 

Maybe you cant, but as I highlighted in my previous posts it made some people feel uncomfortable and they no longer wished to sing it.

 

Some people don't want to sing it because a freed slave wrote it. That actually makes them sound like the racist ones in a weird way.

I've always heard the same few lines repeated and I've heard about it's links to slavery before and always assumed it had more verses which were offensive so I was quite surprised to look into it and find that all the lyrics seem to be positive rather than negative. It seems to me more a song of hope and change. A band of angels coming to carry him home. Tell all his friends he's coming home.
I may be missing something obvious in the lyrics but isnt it a message of hope to slaves that their hell can change?

Promoting that message and educating the rugby fans that this song they sing was written by a freed slave is great. Education is always a good thing I'm just struggling to see the negative aspect of the song

 

You took the words out of my mouth.

 

Did you read the article I linked to?

 

The one about the female player who found out the sofa history and refuses to sing it now? Yes I did but didn't answer the question because she ever said what it is about the song she doesn't like. Essentially it's a pointless article as it does nothing to educate anyone despite her saying education is important

 

I've got to say though Marlon I always loved the song , I knew full well what it represented and what it's origins were. I always felt slightly proud to be one of what seemed to be a small minority of people appreciating it.

 

TBH I didn’t I always thought it was an old religious song untill it was brought up .
I can’t see it being a big loss tbh if it’s replaced with another popular tune .
Better that imo than someone feeling belittled by it .

 

Spirituals were the roots of a lot of great music.

 

I don't think anyone should feel belittled, although I accept I can't put myself in their shoes, but as Trevor Phillips pointed out today the last people to ban the song were the Nazi's.
I think the world is a better place for 70,000 people to be heard singing what used to be known as a Negro Spiritual.

 

What is belittling about a freed slave writing a song celebrating his freedom?

 

I think that is the problem with you Supertyke, you cant see that someone else could he belittled because you're not in their position.