“Downtown” singer Petula Clark commented Tuesday about her 1964 hit coming from the recreational vehicle that police say Anthony Quinn Warner blew up moments later on Christmas morning in Nashville.
“I feel the need to express my shock and disbelief at the Christmas Day explosion in our beloved Music City,” Ms. Clark, 88, posted on Facebook.
“Why this violent act - leaving behind it such devastation?” Ms. Clark asked in the Facebook post. “Of all the thousands of songs - why this one?”
Officers with the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department first on the scene of Friday’s explosion said the RV blew up shortly after “Downtown,” Ms. Clark’s signature song, could be heard coming from it.
“Of course, the opening lyric is ’When you’re alone and life is making you lonely you can always go Downtown’,” Ms. Clark said in the Facebook post. “But millions of people all over the world have been uplifted by this joyful song. Perhaps you can read something else into these words - depending on your state of mind. It’s possible.”
Warner, 63, has been identified as the lone suspect thought responsible for the bombing but died at the scene of the blast. Investigators have not publicly disclosed any possible motive or intentions.
Video recorded at the scene of the explosion immediately before it occurred captured the RV loudly broadcasting audio messages warning people within range to evacuate the area and avoid the vehicle.
MPD Officer James Luellen said during a press conference Monday that Ms. Clark’s tune “Downtown” could be heard playing from the RV before the explosion in-between it broadcasting the warnings.
Recorded and released more than 56 years ago, “Downtown” soon became a number one hit in the U.S., among several other countries, while peaking in second place on the charts in Ms. Clark’s native U.K.
Ms. Clark remained active in the decades that followed as a successful singer as well as an actress, and she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998.
“I would like to wrap my arms around Nashville - give you all a hug - and wish you Love, a Happy and Healthy New Year,” Mr. Clark concluded the Facebook post.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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