The Sun Has Got His Hat On
The Sun Has Got His Hat On is a song from the musical Me and My Girl. It was written by Noel Gay and Ralph Butler.[1]
It was originally recorded in 1932 by two popular UK dance bands – Ambrose and his Orchestra, with vocals by Sam Browne, and by the Henry Hall BBC Dance Orchestra with vocals by Val Rosing.[2]
Controversy over lyrics of song
In the original 1932 version of the song, the second verse contains the lines
He's been tanning niggers out in Timbuktu
Now he's coming back to do the same to you[3]
The use of the word "nigger" was socially acceptable in the 1930s, and is found in the Ambrose and Henry Hall recordings of the song. In the Jonathan King version, released in 1971 under the artist name "Nemo", the line was changed to "He's been tanning negroes". Modern performances of the song have included lines such as "He's been roasting peanuts". When Calendar, an ITV1 news programme broadcast a version of the song with the word in May 2012, a complaint was made to Ofcom.[4] ITV Yorkshire described the incident as an "unintended mistake" and the matter was considered to be resolved after an apology.[5]
In May 2014, a listener complained after BBC radio presenter David Lowe played the Ambrose version of the song with the controversial word during his show on 27 April.[6] Lowe resigned and although he was later offered his job back, he did not return.[7]
References
- ^ Klein, Alvin (1990-09-30). "A Very Fit and Proper 'Me and My Girl'". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ Rust, Brian. “The Dance Bands”. Rustbooks, 1972, p. 358.
- ^ "BBC Radio Devon DJ David Lowe loses job over racist word". BBC News. 2014-05-11. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (2012-06-26). "ITV feels the heat over N-word song lyrics". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
- ^ Laughlin, Andrew (2012-08-28). "ITV 'Calendar News' escapes racist song gaffe rebuke". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
- ^ "An All British Post War Cavalcade of Song" BBC Radio Wiltshire. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
- ^ Anderson, Steve (2014-05-10). "After Jeremy Clarkson row veteran DJ is 'forced to quit' for accidentally playing song with 'N-word'". The Independent. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
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