Cnut Songs #1: Shouting At The Sea

Time for a new series, because I seem to have reached the point where Mid-Life Crisis Songs doesn't quite cover everything I want to whinge about. I thought about calling this series Modern Life Is Rubbish, after the Blur album, since it seems to me that (especially in, although not only because of, the post-Covid world), the whole world seems to be going crazy. I also considered calling the feature Meldrew Songs, except as I've probably mentioned before, they used to compare me to Victor Meldrew even back in the 6th Form. 

In the end I settled on Cnut Songs, after the legendary king whose name is often spelled Canute, although the naughty schoolboy who still lives somewhere deep within these aching bones (at odds with the grumpy old man who's always been there) prefers the objectionable spoonerism. (Although if you think I'm just doing that as a joke, check iffypedia... Cnut is the official, olde English spelling.)

The story of Cnut carrying his throne down to the sea shore and shouting at the tide to stop coming in is interpreted in different ways. In some tellings, Cnut is an arrogant king trying (and failing) to demonstrate his supreme power over all things. In my preferred interpretation, he's smart enough to know that, despite being king, his power is extremely limited... and trying to stop the unstoppable is the best way to demonstrate his own impotence. 

I empathise with this version of Cnut more and more each day. I can scream at the tide of insanity that keeps rolling ever closer... but I know that I have no power to stop it. All I can do is grumble about it here. So that's what I'll do.

I'll start the whinging properly tomorrow. Until then, here's a song with King Canute in it...