In an unusual spectacle, Germany’s navy has clarified that there was “no deeper message” behind the decision to play the iconic Imperial March, Darth Vader’s theme from the “Star Wars” films, from one of its warships as it sailed down the River Thames in London this week.
On Monday, a bystander captured the moment on video, which rapidly gained traction on social media and made waves across Europe. According to the German navy, the warship was in the vicinity for training and had anchored in London for a routine supply stop.
“The commander can choose the music freely,” the navy stated on Thursday. “The choice of music has no deeper message.”
Another video showed the warship, the Braunschweig, arriving in London while playing “London Calling,” the 1979 hit from the British rock band The Clash. The song draws its name from the BBC World Service station identification used during World War II, featuring lyrics like “London calling to the zombies of death/Quit holding out and draw another breath.”
The Braunschweig is named after a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, and is part of the newest class of German ocean-going corvettes, quite distant from the shores of the United Kingdom.
During its departure, a tugboat guided the warship down the river near Tower Bridge as sailors stood on deck, noticeably without any lightsabers. This marked the Braunschweig’s second visit to the British capital, according to a post by the German Embassy in London on the social media platform X.
The embassy further revealed that the warship’s commander is an ardent “Star Wars” fan and a great admirer of the legendary musical scores of John Williams. “He chooses a different Williams tune whenever his ship is visiting a foreign harbor,” the statement said.
There’s no indication whether Anakin Skywalker himself was aboard.
