This year’s Maltasong winning entry may tell a tale of Russian espionage, but there’s no escaping the alcoholic implications of its title and lyrics. Apart from at least 12 references to the eponymous distilled spirit during the song, Morena also sings “Na zdarovye” – Russian for ‘cheers’ – no fewer than six times. Then, of course, there are other “dodgy” references to the tune of “My pulse has gone dead, With a heart-racing chill, yeah…”
So does the winning entry of the Malta Song for Europe festival also promote binge drinking? And more to the point, should parents allow their children to make a sing-along out of ‘Vodka’, as they most probably did with Fabrizio Faniello’s ‘I Do’, and as they definitely did with Ira Losco’s ‘7th Wonder’?
One thing’s for sure: local anti-alcohol agencies have given Maltese parents the green light on Vodka, and youth workers seem convinced that we should support Malta’s act at this year’s edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, regardless of its theme.
Appoġġ Chief Executive Joe Gerada does not believe that the song will have any particular affect on alcohol consumption among adults, still less among minors. “We should put things into perspective and accept the fact that people chose the song because they like it,” he told Maltatoday. “Crazes on songs come in phases, and if children will be singing the song it will not be for more than a year. I wish Morena the best of luck, and along with many other Maltese people she has my full support.”
Joe Farrugia, chief executive of the alcohol importers’ organisation The Sense Group – which also promotes responsible drinking – agrees that there should be no moral issue on the grounds that the song has been chosen by the public. “There are so many songs about alcoholic drinks, why should anyone take a stand on this one?” Fair enough: after all, we haven’t picked on The Wurzel’s I Am A Cider Drinker; and not only is this a song about alcohol, but it also happens to have a very, very similar melody.
Singing the same tune as Gerada, Sedqa’s operations director Jean-Claude Cardona accepted that there should be no issue over the choice of song.
“We accept that we are no moral authority over what songs are voted for,” he said. “We are not censors and it is not the agency’s intention to act as such. I honestly hope that the song is voted for abroad.”
In view of the nature of its lyrics, Cardona appealed for all involved to take on their responsibility, “and that includes parents and the industry.”
Asked about Sedqa’s stand on other songs that feature drugs and alcohol, Cardona said: “Once artists write about drugs and alcohol – as with Clapton’s Cocaine, or UB 40’s Red Red Wine, it is pretty indicative that a message is being passed on. This could be one of two things. It could either mean that the artist is truly portraying life’s realities, or that sadly, the songwriter is cynically including lyrics to look cool and therefore use such lyrics to attract attention. That way, a song will only turn into a marketing ploy.”
On the subject of messages, Sedqa would certainly be passing one of its own if it had to find issue with such a popular matter as the winner of the Maltasong festival: but it is highly unlikely to be a message welcomed by the general public. It would perhaps be wiser to close an eye and laugh it off. After all, if Vodka turns out to be as popular as the drink it is named after, we might all have something to celebrate in May.