Silly songs
When I was 10 we went on the obligatory cross-channel trip to Calais. I can't remember Calais at all but I do remember the bollocking that ensued from the ferry.

You see, some rude 'older boys' had recently taught me a simple little ditty about....the IRA. All I can remember is the last line - "With a gun in your hand and a bomb in your car it's up the IRA".
So of course I taught it to my schoolmates who, like me, were charmed by its catchy tune and simple yet elegant phraseology. And we sang it a lot.

Less charmed was a group of men nearby, one of whom had a relative who (we were later told) had been killed by the IRA.
One of them told our teacher and I got the mother of all bollockings a few days later when I got home. It was one of the few times I've seen my mum crying tears of shame.
I didn't know at the time what the IRA was, or why such a song wasn't a good idea. Looking back I think the song might have been somewhat ironic but clearly the audience wasn't sophisticated enough to grasp such nuances, or ready for my own brand of avant garde near-knuckle political satire.
(Thomas_The_Spankengine, Wed 13 Dec 2006, 19:39, Reply)