It wasn’t all that long ago that it was no holds barred when it came to going out and visiting a local pub or restaurant. These days, you sometimes feel as if you are taking your life into your own hands when you leave your front door. Many pubs and restaurants are taking the needed steps to keep us safe, and that includes an Irish pub in Spain. They decided to put the kibosh on singing “Sweet Caroline” by Neil diamond.
“Sweet Caroline” is one of those songs that is often played at big gatherings, but the lyrics don’t exactly play nicely with the current pandemic. People would sing out the chorus of the song at the top of their lungs, including the lyrics: “Hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching you.”
Murphy’s Irish Bar in Carralejo, Spain recognized the difficulty so they decided to ban the song. Linda Carol, the pub’s owner showed the sign that talked about that decision. “Due to COVID-19 ‘Sweet Caroline’ is banned. There will be no: touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching you.”
Linda Murphys
Posted by Linda Carroll on Friday, July 31, 2020
It wasn’t just the lyrics of the song that led to the decision, it’s also because people tend to sing along with the song in a crowded environment. The New York Post reported that many owners of pubs said that “Sweet Caroline” results in people holding hands, putting their arms around each other, and screaming out the song. With a large crowd singing the song all at the same time, more respiratory droplets would be in the air and that could lead to the spread of coronavirus.
Some people are disappointed over the removal of this song but others see the wisdom in doing so. In March, even Neil Diamond stepped up to the plate with a modified version of the song that goes, “Hands, washing hands, reaching out, don’t touch me, I won’t touch you.”