WHEN US PRESIDENT Barack Obama visited the UK for a G20 summit in 2009, he presented the Queen with an iPod, complete with footage of her 2007 visit to America, and some Broadway tunes.
It’s the last day of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit and as she’s got some serious miles to cover, TheJournal.ie wonders what President Mary McAleese might put on an iPod (or should that be a onesPod?) fit for a Queen.
MC Hammer: Can’t Touch This
A colossal amount of preparation went into the security operation in preparation for the Queen’s visit, and onlookers haven’t been allowed to get too close to the monarch. Therefore MC Hammer’s classic ‘Can’t Touch This’ should surely be the anthem of The Queen’s visit. And how many people would pay a hefty amount of cash to hear Prince Philip randomly roar “STOP! Hammer time”?
Westlife: You’re the Queen of my Heart
Ideally President McAleese would use the onesPod to promote the latest in Irish music, maybe including some Fight Like Apes, And So I Watch You From Afar or Villagers. But let’s be realistic. The Corrs, or key-change specialists Westlife are much more likely to make the cut, and the latter already have the perfect ballad ready to go in the form of “You’re the Queen of my Heart”. The band were also chosen to perform for her majesty at the Convention Centre in Dublin, so at least she’d have been able to sing along.
Yo Majesty: Club Action
The Queen is obviously a fan of namesake hip hip US group Yo Majesty, right? We thought so.
The Beatles: Her Majesty
While The Beatles may not have been the greatest fans of Queen Elizabeth, Paul McCartney obviously had a soft spot for her, penning this tongue-in-cheek love song. If The Queen felt a bit down after catching sight of some protestors on the streets of Dublin, she could stick this on and perk up a bit.
U2: Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Queen’s visit to Croke Park, the scene of the killing of 14 people by British forces on Sunday 21 November 1920, dubbed ‘Bloody Sunday’, was a historic highlight of her tour. While the U2 classic ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ was written in reference to the shooting of 26 people in Derry in 1972, it is a comment on the Troubles and a song which Bono has introduced as “not a rebel song” but rather a call for peace. The Edge has described it as a “pacifist anthem”. So more suitable than you would think for this bridge-building visit.
Avoid a royal gaffe…There are some tunes that might be best avoided if the royal visitor is not to be upset:
The Smiths: The Queen is Dead
Smith’s frontman Morrissey is not a fan of the royal family, recently branding them “benefit scroungers”. Therefore including “The Queen is Dead” on a playlist might not be the best move.
The Sex Pistols: God Save The Queen
Johnny Rotten and co’s alternative anthem is probably the most obvious anti-monarchist tune. Rotten said he wrote the song because he loves the English race, and was “fed up of seeing them mistreated”.
Stone Roses: Elizabeth My Dear
With lyrics including “I’ll not rest till she’s lost her throne” and “it’s curtains for you, Elizabeth my dear”, this is not the ideal tune to welcome the Queen to our shores.
Rubberbandits: Address to the Queen of England
Limerick’s finest have devised a set of rules for the Queen on the occasion of her visit. Failure to comply, they say, will result in her being chased around a field with a golf club smeared in dogs**t. Not the most welcoming of sentiments.
Have you got more suggestions for songs that should, or shouldn’t, appear on a playlist fit for a queen? Leave them in the comments section below.
