On Monday, a German warship, the “Braunschweig,” a corvette (more or less what our Navy calls a frigate) sailed up the River Thames through London. And, as some warship captains are known to do, the Braunschweig’s commander announced his visit with loud music – namely, the Darth Vader theme from “Star Wars.”
A German Navy Captain played Darth Vader’s Imperial March as the Ship went up the Thames. Dude..what a legend! #Thames #German #ImperialMarch @MarkHamill #Navy #StarWars #UK pic.twitter.com/brhz7Ykdfb
— Frankie Beats (@itsbeats) August 21, 2024
The German Navy insists there is no particular message behind the choice of music. In case anyone is not aware, Germany and the United Kingdom have not always seen eye-to-eye.
Germany’s navy says there was “no deeper message” in the choice to blast the famed Imperial March — Darth Vader’s theme song in the “Star Wars” films — from one of its warships as it cruised down the River Thames through London this week.
A bystander captured the spectacle Monday on video, which quickly went viral on social media. The song selection made waves across Europe. The warship was in the area for training and dropped anchor in London for a normal supply stop, the German navy said.
“The commander can choose the music freely,” the navy said in a statement Thursday. “The choice of music has no deeper message.”
Uh-huh.
It’s important to note that the captain of a warship in a foreign port is an emissary of his country, an ambassador in all but name. The visiting warship is almost an embassy unto itself, the capital property of its nation, and the captain is responsible for the actions of his crew and the tone and tenor of his visit. Granted it’s unlikely in the extreme that hostilities between Germany and the United Kingdom will be breaking out any time soon; events around 1945 or so pretty much settled the primary differences of opinion those nations harbored.
The Darth Vader theme wasn’t the only tune the German corvette used to regale the subjects of His Majesty.
Other video recorded the warship, the Braunschweig, playing “London Calling,” the 1979 hit from British rock band The Clash, upon its arrival in London. The song’s title is drawn from the BBC World Service station identification in World War II and its lyrics include the lines, “London calling to the zombies of death/Quit holding out and draw another breath.”
That’s another interesting choice, I must say.
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All this set me to thinking. Granted I was in the Army/Army reserves and not the Navy, but were I the captain of an American warship, what music might I choose to announce my ship’s arrival in a foreign port? Well, I guess that depends on which port I was visiting – but I have taken it upon myself to develop a short playlist of ports and appropriate music.
Any Middle Eastern port: The Clash, “Rock the Casbah.”
Any Chinese or Russian port: George Thorogood and the Destroyers, “Bad to the Bone.”
The United Kingdom: Toby Keith, “Made in America.”
A song can send a message. This German captain insists there is no deeper meaning, and he’s probably telling the truth; at least, there is no deeper meaning other than “I’m a huge Star Wars nerd.” But honestly, why pass up the chance for a little musical diplomacy? In so many cases, after all, diplomacy is the art of saying “Nice doggy, nice doggy” until you can find a rock.
Personally, were I that German captain, I would have chosen a different song.
