Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

There were many notable songs in The Wizard of Oz, but only Ding Dong the Witch is Dead was a jovial song honoring someone's passing. A vibrant and upbeat song performed by an army of Munchkins celebrates the overthrow of their oppressor by a collapsing house. In the proper setting, it makes perfect sense. What about when it's not relevant?

We're back in the UK, where the BBC exercised its arbitrary banning powers in 2013 to remove this perennial family favorite from the airwaves, not in the 1930s or 1940s. This time, the rationale was that the song was growing in popularity following the passing of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The song rose in the charts following her passing due to a significant increase in sales, but the BBC, which usually broadcasts a weekly musical chart countdown, refused to air it because they were aware of the reason the song had initially risen in the charts and found it repulsive. Even though they insisted they weren't outright banning it, they only played a portion of the song throughout the countdown rather than the entire thing.