Song of the Week: I was there (at the Coronation)
Young Tiger
I was there (at the Coronation)
Let’s take a trip back to 1953 this week with this summery calypso number celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation. In the song, Young Tiger (aka the somewhat less excitingly named George Browne) describes watching the Coronation from Marble Arch - seeing the golden coach with Her Majesty looking ‘really divine’ and the Duke of Edinburgh, all ‘dignified and neat’. The song perfectly captures the excitment of those more patriotic times.
However, Young Tiger must have been psychic as the song was apparently recorded on 22 April 1953 and the Coronation didn’t take place till two months later on 2 June…
‘I was there (at the Coronation)’, Young Tiger, 1953 from London is the Place for Me: Trinidadian Calypso in London, 1950-1956, Honest Jons, 2002
Tags: Song of the week
July 29th, 2008 at 10:17 am
By a spooky coincidence - I’m having a 1977 week this week and using pics from the Silver Jubilee. But I’m a bit baffled though, why was the Silver Jubilee held 24 years after the event in 77 - surely it should have been 78?
Fantastic tune - love that honky tink piano, sounds like a Jacque Tati soundtrack
July 29th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Good question, PM, and thanks to Wikipedia I have the answer. Queen Liz was proclaimed Queen in February 1952, but wasn’t actually coronated until 1953 - which explains why the Silver Jubilee is in 1977. But did you celebrate with a street party?
July 29th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Yes we did have a street party, I had a very dandy Union Jack bowler - and someone brought a donkey along for rides. There’s some great pics from around the UK if you type ‘77 jubilee street party’ into Google images
Did they have much of tear up in Aus’?
July 29th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Ooh, a donkey! Where the heck would you get one of those from? I don’t think that the Jubilee was quite such a cause for celebration in Australia. I really have no recollection of it though, because I’m just a bit too young I’m afraid.