Sir Tom Jones has been surprised by a furore which has blown up around his vintage hit, Delilah – and said people should not take it too literally.

Welsh Rugby chiefs have been urged to ban the song before matches as critics claim it trivialises murder.

Former Plaid Cymru president and folk singer Dafydd Iwan also alleged the song, which is about a man killing his adulterous partner, is inappropriate because it promotes domestic violence.

But Sir Tom said: “I love to hear it sung at rugby games. It makes me very proud to be Welsh.

“I think if they’re looking into the lyric about a man killing a woman, it’s not a political statement. It’s just something that happens in life that his woman was unfaithful to him and he just loses it.

“The great thing about the song that everyone picks up on is the chorus. I don’t think that they are really thinking about it.”

A picture of Tom Jones and Paloma Faith on stage
Tom Jones performed with Paloma Faith at the BBC Music Awards (Nick Pickles/BBC/Press Association Images)

Sir Tom – who performed at the BBC Music Awards with Paloma Faith – continued: “I wasn’t thinking that I was the man that was killing the girl when I was singing the song, I was acting out the part and that’s what the song is.

“If it’s going to be taken literally like that then I think it takes the fun out of it. I think it takes the spirit out of why it’s being sung.”