John Lydon once sneered the lyrics “God save the queen, she ain’t no human being”, and now forty years later, he has somewhat recanted.
Lydon gave some rather considered thoughts on the Quietus podcast, after talk turned to the recent revelations that there are plans in place for the eventual death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Lydon was asked his thoughts about how his famous song ‘God Save The Queen’ might be used in the wake of her death. It’s clearly something Lydon had given prior thought to.
“That’s about a political situation and the demand for obedience to a monarchy I don’t believe in. But that’s a human being and I would sorely miss her as a human being on planet Earth.
“Yeah, no, I’ll miss her. I will, as a fellow human being. It’s not her fault she was born into a gilded cage. … Can I just correct this, just slightly? Because it’s important. “I will miss her” sounds ominous and I don’t want that. Long may she live. I don’t know about the “reign” part, but long may she live.
“And at the same time, I love all the pageantry too. I loved that last wedding. Oh, when the planes flew over the palace? It reminded me of World War II and all those films, and how grim it was fighting Nazis. For me, it was a reintroduction to history, lest we forget.”
Well, Lydon and the Sex Pistols were about nothing if not pageantry. Listen to the (rather tame pop) song, below.
