British Thatcher fans mistake satirical song for tribute

After the death of British Conservative ex-Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher, a rapid rise up the British charts of the 74-years-old song “Ding Dong! The witch is dead”, from the musical The wizard of Oz, was one of the signs that many people in Britain strongly disliked the late Lady Thatcher and her policies.

Conservative British politicians wanted to counter this musical dislike by putting a song in praise of their heroine high into the music charts.

Well.. err … WAS the song which they chose for this really in praise of Margaret Thatcher?

It is this song.

It says about itself:

NOTSENSIBLES – I’m in Love with Margaret Thatcher b/w Little Boxes, Garry Bushell‘s Band of the week.

Classic two-fingered salute to Margaret Thatcher courtesy of Burnley’s NOTSENSIBLES. Lots of scarce Notsensibles pictures.

Metro daily in Britain writes:

The irony of the campaign is that the original song – despite its seemingly praiseworthy lyrics – is actually believed to be a sarcastic dig at the former prime minister by the punk band from Burnley, Lancashire.

According to Wikipedia:

band member Steven Hartley commented that it had been written as a satirical swipe at her. … singer Michael “Haggis” Hargreaves …said: “I find it hilarious that Tories have adopted it.”

Maybe Thatcher fans have adopted a punk rock satire as a song of praise because no-one able to write music has ever written a real pro-Thatcher song.

The Conservative politicians failed in their aim to get I’m in Love with Margaret Thatcher higher up the charts than Ding Dong! The witch is dead. Maybe because there are fewer Thatcher supporters than Thatcher opponents in Britain. And maybe because Conservatives, even if unable to distinguish between satire and tribute, hate punk rock, or any music which is not a military march, so much that they will not buy it, even with supposedly Thatcherite lyrics.

This is not the first time that British Tories don’t understand the meaning of a song.

Meaning this song.

It says about itself:

Strawbs – Part of the union 1973

Now I’m a union man
Amazed at what I am
I say what I think
That the company stinks
Yes I’m a union man.

When we meet in the local hall
I’ll be voting with them all
With a hell of a shout
It’s out brothers out
And the rise of the factory’s fall.

Oh you don’t get me I’m part of the union
You don’t get me I’m part of the union
You don’t get me I’m part of the union
Till the day I die, till the day I die.

As a union man I’m wise
To the lies of the company spies
And I don’t get fooled
By the factory rules
‘Cause I always read between the lines.

And I always get my way
If I strike for higher pay
When I show my card
To the Scotland Yard
This what I say.

Oh you don’t get me I’m part of the union
You don’t get me I’m part of the union
You don’t get me I’m part of the union
Till the day I die, till the day I die.

Before the union did appear
My life was half as clear
Now I’ve got the power
To the working hour
And every other day of the year.

So though I’m a working man
I can ruin the government’s plan
Though I’m not too hard
The sight of my card
Makes me some kind of superman.

Oh you don’t get me I’m part of the union
You don’t get me I’m part of the union
You don’t get me I’m part of the union
Till the day I die, till the day I die.

Wikipedia writes:

The song was unofficially adopted by the trade union movement, and it is widely considered to be a proud folk anthem for the working man.

The Free Online Library writes:

The rousing sing-along “Part Of The Union” was embraced by unions but was vilified by the Conservative Party, which assembled Parliament to vote for banning the song. In spite of, or because of, the controversy, the song rose to #2.

However, other Tories thought the song was a satire of trade unionism; no matter how often Strawbs band members denied that.

Apartheid’s victims will shed no tears about Thatcher: here.

Related articles

• Tories pushing a song to praise Thatcher was actually a pisstake (liberalconspiracy.org)
• opponents of Margaret Thatcher pushed the song “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead” to the top of the British charts i (estergoldberg.com)
• ‘Thatcher row’ song misses top spot (bbc.co.uk)
• Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead shoots to number one in Scottish charts following the death of Margaret Thatcher (dailyrecord.co.uk)