Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there were standards.

There’s a 1958 musical, Expresso Bongo, that includes a witty song with the lines:

“When I see this little bleeder
and compare him to Aida
… nausea.”

These are the words of a music promoter who, having fallen on hard times, decides to promote a rock & roll musician.

The song was banned by the BBC, and the subsequent movie of the same name (featuring the well-known English popular singer Clifford Richard) didn’t include the song; the word bleeder was deemed far too offensive.

Fast forward to today.

On the wireless one frequently hears a song by a so-called artist, Mika. Apparently aimed at prepubescent girls (who haven’t yet developed the nous to suspect the sexuality of a singer whose song video features him prancing around a teenage-style bedroom in a state of serious undress – no doubt much to the enjoyment of his gayer fans), his song “We Are Golden” features the line:

“Who gives a damn about the family you come from?”

I’m not concerned about his almost total nudity.  After all, nude wrestling was popular in classical times and is a perfectly proper pastime for an English gentleman.

I’m not concerned about his prancing. At least it was done in the privacy of his own bedroom. Poor lamb, he probably didn’t know there was a video recorder and operator in there with him the whole time.

I do, however, take exception to the filthy language. Damn is not a word to be bandied about in polite company. Heaven forfend some young, impressionable individual might hear such caddish language.

Standards are slipping.

Lord Reith, I trust and pray you’ll stop your gyrations soon.

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