Ode to London

Manpriya Singh

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Songs that made you cheer during adolescence generally make you cringe during adulthood. However, some stay close all through the years changing only in sense and never in significance. It begins well with London Bridge Is Falling Down and moves up till Streets of London by Ralph McTell. Closer home, our B-town and Punjabi boys have not been far behind in contributing their musical bits to the place we’ve mostly referred to as greener pasture or an escape route. Songs on London abound and some of them have stayed right beside us to entertain and keep company. 

Hall of fame 

Sometimes the Big Ben, at times London Eye, or the Oxford Street; the place has always found a reference in songs for its culture, streets, landmarks, ethos, people, times gone by and years spent in. Then there are some things that have infested capitals across the universe — extreme wealth coexisting with crippling poverty. While London Calling by The Clash, is dark and doom-laden song, which talks of glaciers melting and Thames bursting, Streets of London, the song written by Ralph McTell, looks at learning from the inequality around. The song, also recorded by Beatles, connects with everybody who has ever lived in a metropolitan. “Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London, It’ll show you something to make you change your mind.” 

Across the River Thames by Elton John talks of the various changes that the place has witnessed; at the end of it all, yet, it remains the same. “London Bridge ain’t falling down and some things never change…But I’m still here and the fog still rolls across the River Thames.” Then there’s the Cemeteries of London by the very popular Coldplay, which is clearly inspired by ghost stories all of us have shared sometime. 

Bollywood tale

Starting with the most recent and commercially successful London Thumakda from Queen — Kangana Ranaut did justice to the video and singer Labh Janjua to the song. Result? The listeners, the crowds, young and old alike at the wedding dance party, everybody made sure it was not just Kangana or London; everybody started swinging to the tune. The song ropes in references to Queen Victoria, Big Ben and of course the ever-favourite London. Moving onto the next big Punjabi hit Money Aujla’s London that talks of a beautiful London girl, who’s all wide-eyed about the countryside of Punjab, yellow mustard fields and what not. The song goes viral on Youtube; the lyrics ring a bell with every lad. 

Young take

Bollywood songs on London might be few in number, but far outreach in popularity than their English counterparts. Shares Kirti Bhalla, MCM student, “My favourite definitely is London Thumakda from the film Queen. In fact, I don’t know much about other songs on the city but even if I did, we’d connect with Bollywood songs on the place.” It’s not a land of Baker Street or River Thames, but the foreign shores and greener pastures we associate with. 

manpriya@tribunemail.com