Elvis and his beef with the Iron Lady

WITHOUT striking too ghoulish a tone, perhaps it is fair to reflect that amid the brouhaha surrounding the death of Margaret Thatcher, an opportunity was lost.

For those who felt the cold force of the Iron Lady’s reign, exultation was the reflex response. That was what fuelled the campaign to propel ‘Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead’ to the top of the music charts.

No doubt those who suffered the ravages of her policies, scarcely believing the day would ever come, felt entitled to this outpouring of cartoon glee, but could a number from a Hollywood musical ever quite hope to essay the true feelings of fear and loathing towards the former British Prime Minister? A more measured riposte would have been ‘Tramp The Dirt Down’. Written by Elvis Costello, one of the finest wordsmiths and songwriters of his or any generation, ‘Tramp The Dirt Down’ articulates the revulsion the narrator feels when he sees a photograph in a newspaper of the politician kissing a child. “Can you imagine all that greed and avarice coming down on that child’s lips?” he asks.