"Delilah" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Tom Jones in December 1967. The lyrics were written by

Barry Mason John Barry Mason (12 July 1935 – 16 April 2021) was an English singer and songwriter. A leading songwriter of the 1960s, he wrote the bulk of his most successful songs in partnership with Les Reed. Mason gained many gold and platinum awar ...

, 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 The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

Music and lyrics

Although the song is a soulful number set in

triple metre Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 (compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , , ...

, the underlying genre may be considered to be a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

. Produced by Peter Sullivan, Jones's version features a big-band accompaniment set to a

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

rhythm. The pitch of the final note is A4. Flamenco was a surprising choice, since there is no reference to Spain anywhere in the song. Possibly, it was because of similarities to the plot of "Carmen", in which Don José stabs Carmen to death when she tells him she is leaving him for another man. 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 ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'', the censors insisted 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 change as "such bullshit". In a two-year court case in The High Court of Justice, 1983 -M- No.1566,

's ex-wife Sylvan Whittingham, the daughter of Bond film '' Thunderball'' screenwriter,

Jack Whittingham Jack Whittingham (2 August 1910 – 3 July 1972) was a British playwright and screenwriter. Early life Whittingham was born in Heaton, West Yorkshire, England, and educated at Charterhouse between 1924 and 1929. He then went up Lincoln Colle ...

, claimed she had written half the lyrics of "Delilah" and several other songs. The legal battle was settled out of court in 1986.

Chart performance

Tom Jones' recording reached No. 1 in the charts of several countries, including Germany and Switzerland. It reached No 2 in the British charts in March 1968 and was the sixth-best selling single of that year. The US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' chart records its highest position as 15.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Miscellaneous uses

Rugby

Welsh rugby fans have sung "Delilah" as an unofficial anthem since at least as early as the 1970s; it was referred to in the lyrics of one of the verses of

Max Boyce Maxwell Boyce, (born 27 September 1943) is a Welsh comedian, singer and entertainer. He rose to fame in the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in a South Wales mining community. B ...

's " Hymns and Arias": "We sang '

Cwm Rhondda Cwm Rhondda is a popular hymn tune written by John Hughes (1873–1932) in 1907. The name is taken from the Welsh name for the Rhondda Valley. It is usually used in English as a setting for William Williams' text "Guide Me, O Thou Great ...

' and 'Delilah', damn they sounded both the same". Tom Jones performed it before Wales's rugby victory over England at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in 1999. As of 2003, the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

played the song in

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

before matches; the words to the song were shown on the big screens and the crowd sang along. In 2014,

Dafydd Iwan Dafydd Iwan Jones (born 24 August 1943) is a Welsh singer and nationalist politician who rose to fame writing and performing folk music in the Welsh language. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which ad ...

, former president of the Welsh nationalist party

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

, called for Welsh rugby supporters to stop singing "Delilah" at matches, asserting that the song "trivialise the idea of murdering a woman". Jones dismissed Iwan's claims, stating: "I don’t think ingersare really thinking about it … If it’s going to be taken literally, I think it takes the fun out of it." Prior to the

2016 Six Nations Championship The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. I ...

rugby tournament, Welsh MP

Chris Bryant Christopher John Bryant (born 11 January 1962) is a British people, British politician and former Anglican priest who is the Chair of the Committees on Commons Select Committee on Standards, Standards and Commons Select Committee of Privileges, ...

claimed that the song was about the murder of a prostitute, and requested that the song not be sung by Welsh rugby fans as the lyrics glorify violence towards women.

Association Football

Supporters of

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

adopted "Delilah" as their club anthem in the 1990s. It was adopted by the fans after a supporter was heard singing it in a local pub. Some of the song's original lyrics were adapted for the football terraces, but the essence of the song remained the same.

Film

The song featured in the 1990 film ''

Edward Scissorhands ''Edward Scissorhands'' is a 1990 American fantasy romance film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Anthony Mi ...

''. In the 2005 film ''

Romance and Cigarettes ''Romance & Cigarettes'' is a 2005 American musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Turturro. The film stars an ensemble cast which includes James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Mand ...

'', the original recording plays on a jukebox while

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Awar ...

sings along and mimes the action. In the 2013 film ''

American Hustle ''American Hustle'' is a 2013 American historical black comedy crime film directed by David O. Russell. It was written by Eric Warren Singer and Russell, inspired by the FBI Abscam operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It stars Christia ...

'', the song plays at a bar while

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including ...

and

Jeremy Renner Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as '' Dahmer'' (2002) and ''Neo Ned'' (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as ''S.W.A.T.'' (2 ...

sing along. The chorus of the song was referenced in the movie ''

Hercules Returns ''Hercules Returns'' is a 1993 Australian comedy film directed by David Parker, starring David Argue, Michael Carman, Bruce Spence and Mary Coustas. The film has a cult following in Australia and other countries. It has been released in DVD fo ...

''. The song is featured prominently in the film '' Dream Horse''.

TV

In the "

Stage Fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

" episode of ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until t ...

'', Tony Angelino, the Singing Dustman, is seen performing the song during his performance at the Down by the Riverside Club. As Tony suffers from

rhotacism Rhotacism () or rhotacization is a sound change that converts one consonant (usually a voiced alveolar consonant: , , , or ) to a rhotic consonant in a certain environment. The most common may be of to . When a dialect or member of a language ...

, he makes minor adaptations to the lyrics to eliminate R sounds. In the "

Homer the Heretic "Homer the Heretic" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 8, 1992. In the episode, Homer decides to forgo going ...

" episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'', Homer sings the chorus while showering, seemingly pleased with himself for getting out of going to church. In the 14th episode of ''

Raising Hope ''Raising Hope'' is an American sitcom that aired from September 21, 2010, to April 4, 2014, on Fox. Following its first season, the show received two nominations at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. Martha Plimpton was nominated for Outstanding L ...

'', "What Up, Cuz?", the song appears in a flashback showing the young Virginia Chance with her cousin Delilah. In the first episode of the 2012 British comedy series ''

Citizen Khan ''Citizen Khan'' is a British sitcom produced by the BBC and created by Adil Ray. Five series have been shown so far. It is set in Sparkhill, South Birmingham, described by its lead character, a British Pakistani man Mr Khan (Ray), as "the capita ...

'', Khan sings the song over the mosque speakers, much to the amusement of several fellow worshippers. In episode 9 Season 1 of Epix' " Pennyworth", all the clientele of the bar sing in unison.((2019))

Music

According to Philip Norman's 2001 biography of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, John provided background vocals on this song. On 4 June 2012 Jones performed the song for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1960s ballads 1968 singles Football songs and chants Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Murder ballads Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Switzerland Number-one singles in France Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Spain Songs about crime Songs about death Songs written by Barry Mason Songs written by Les Reed (songwriter) Stoke City F.C. Tom Jones (singer) songs 1968 songs Decca Records singles Parrot Records singles Songs about infidelity Schlager songs Song recordings produced by Peter Sullivan (record producer) Obscenity controversies in music Pop ballads