'Pomp and Circumstance' has worn out its welcome - #lakewoodnews

People will pull a Tevye from "Fiddler on the Roof" and shout "Tradition!" but "Pomp and Circumstance" has got to go.

In the 115 years since Edward Elgar composed the march for the coronation of England's King Edward VII, hasn't there been another piece of music we can use in lieu of "Pomp's" repetitious monotony?

As a student or parent, Elgar's march is one you'll hear perhaps twice as a student at high school and college graduations, and a few more times as a parent, depending on how many children you have.

But even then, I'm not sure anyone actually hears the tune: Students are focused on not tripping down stairs and too excited to concentrate; parents are too busy jockeying for a prime photo position or quietly sobbing into their Kleenex.

But what about the teachers, who listen to it year after year? The band students who actively produce the music? And journalists --; like me --; who cover three or more graduations in a week?

It's time for a change.

Even "Pomp's" composer would agree.

"I've a got a tune that will knock 'em --; knock 'em flat," Elgar wrote while working on the piece, according to a June 2015 article by The Guardian, one of England's oldest newspapers.

"Pomp and Circumstance" didn't become associated with graduations until 1905, a May 2003 story on NPR reports, when it was played as a recessional as Elgar received an honorary doctorate from Yale.

The work became a reliable source of income for Elgar, but "he came to tire of its jingoism and the fact it overshadowed everything else he wrote," according to The Guardian.

I sympathize.

Options are endless for a song to replace "Pomp and Circumstance." And let's not be afraid to have some fun with the challenge.

Does the replacement need to have a repetitive melody that can be played over and over on a loop? How about Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue?" Or the classic rock staple "Smoke on the Water?" Imagine watching students try to navigate a choreographed number in their robes?

There's also always the option to include a little sense of humor. Walking down the aisle to '90s R&B star Mark Morrison's smash "Return of the Mack" would do everyone about to sit through an hours-long ceremony some serious good. Certainly AC/DC's classic "Highway to Hell" would provide much-needed belly laughs before settling in for an emotional ceremony.

For my money, the best replacement would be Bob Dylan's incendiary "Like A Rolling Stone," because it asks an important question:

Every graduate must come to grips with reality on some level as their high school career ends.

It's simply inconceivable that Elgar's song hasn't been topped since he wrote it. Nor do I believe "Pomp and Circumstance" was supposed to be graduation song for the rest of time.

After all, life is about moving forward and embracing change.

Graduates are doing it. Why can't we?

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