Or Queen. I always took this to mean that the instant one monarch dies, the next becomes the monarch. Ie. to use a U.S. example, "JFK is dead; long live LBJ". A ceremony takes place, but the nation doesn't go two hours without a leader.
But writers use this sentence in a way that implies it has a different meaning. Today I read, "The guitar solo is dead; long live the guitar solo."
What does that even mean? Long live the memory of the guitar solo? So do people really mean, "Long live the memory of the Queen/King?" or is this writer confused.
2006-08-16 03:17:54 · 15 answers · asked by superstar dj 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Royalty
The guitar solo is dead; long live the guitar solo may have some meaning in the mind of the writer, but it is too obscure for anyone to get at it without the writer explaining himself.
You are correct in your first statement about "The Kind is dead;
long live the King." It is used in monarchies and it is like a public announcement that the old monarch has died but his successor (although yet uncrowned) is already in place. It helps to give the people of the country a sense of continuity.
It is not however used in any other context, like in the U.S. For one thing, presidents are elected officials--so X is dead, long live Y is inappropriate as his term of office is pro tem until the next election. And a term of office is only four years anyway.
It's definitely a term out of European monarchical history.
2006-08-16 03:25:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
The King is dead, Long live the King! means exactly what it says, as you have correctly surmised.
You aren't the one who is confused, it is the writers who write things like your quotation, who are confused. If it read 'the acoustic guitar solo is dead, long live the electric guitar solo' that would make more sense, but the quote, as you related it, doesn't mean anything at all. Unless there is something in the context that changes it?
People don't really mean "Long live the memory of the Queen/King" they mean the old king/queen is dead, long live the new king/queen, only they omit the words 'old' and 'new' from the saying.
At least, that's my take on it!
2006-08-16 15:08:44 · answer #2 · answered by old lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When one King dies another automatically takes over. The King is dead refers to the King dying and is an announcement of that fact, long live the King refers to the successor who takes over. In other words you are right. The reference to the guitar solo is dead is just a usage by people who are ignorant of the sentence's meaning.
2006-08-16 16:48:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What you say is exactly right. It means that the moment the old king (or queen) dies, the new one automatically accedes to the throne. The guitarist was boasting that because of his solo being, as he thought, so good, he had become the 'king' of guitar solos so all previous ones were 'dead'. Basically he was just plagiarising the expression.
One of the most famous times the saying was used was when Queen Victoria died and her son Edward VII was about to board the Royal Barge to sail down the River Thames. He noticed that the Royal Standard was being flown at half mast.
He asked the captain, "Why is that flag at half mast?"
"Because the queen is dead your Majesty." Replied the confused boatman.
"But the King is alive!" Replied Edward "Hoist it up."
Edward was always bitter that his mother lived as long as she did and he was only able to ascend the throne at an old age. He only reigned for ten years before he died.
2006-08-16 12:15:59 · answer #4 · answered by quatt47 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It means the king is dead, long live the (new) king. Used in the proclamation of a new monarch in European countries particularly UK (1). Original phrase translated from "Le Roi est Mort. Vive le Roi.first used in the coronation of Charles VII after the death of his father Charles VI
The guitar solo bit means long live the memory of (a) guitar solo
There is also a verse in the Neil Young song "Hey Hey My My (Into the Black" which refers to Johnny Rotten (John Lyndon) as the "king":
"The king is gone but not forgotten/
Is this the story of Johnny Rotten?/..."(2) - could be a reference to this?
2006-08-16 10:53:32 · answer #5 · answered by Anon 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Maggie is correct, regarding European monarchies. When one king dies, his successor is automatically the next king (or queen). There is no gap. The actual coronation will take place a year later, but the actual accession to the throne has taken effect as soon as the first king dies.
2006-08-16 23:06:51 · answer #6 · answered by LaRue 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Means the Old king is dead: Long live the New King. JFK was not a king nor LBJ.
2006-08-16 10:23:58 · answer #7 · answered by T 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the writer is not confused.
there is a sense of continuum. so there is never a time when the country is never without a leader. in the same respect that as a monarch may abdicate but the next monarch is immediately set in place with no gap in time.
example: one president is out, the next is in. although he may be sworn in later
2006-08-16 12:24:15 · answer #8 · answered by σοφια 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you were correct in your first assumption.
the writer may have been implying that there is a new kind of guitar solo to take the place of the old. Or he may have been an idiot.
2006-08-16 10:23:55 · answer #9 · answered by double_nubbins 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The King(person) is dead;long live the King(Kingship).
2006-08-16 10:25:36 · answer #10 · answered by agni 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋