Prime Minister Scott Morrison playing the ukulele during his appearance on 60 Minutes last weekend. Image: Nine.

It was always going to happen. We have gone from beyond satire to the surreal in this country’s politics. Just another week Down Under.

But it’s not the shambles that is the federal government trying to look like it’s in control of the country (heavens that would be too much) nor even trying to look like it’s in control of itself. Forget anything intrinsic to the nation, such as its health and welfare, of getting the people and the economy on its feet. Something happened, and it wasn’t pretty.

We speak of the ukulele. We speak of the Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

In a promotional release for a down-at-home family man interview with Morrison and wife Jen, on the Nine network, Morrison hauls out his ukulele, and then strums a few bars of Dragon’s hit “April Sun in Cuba”, and forgets some of the words.

The ukulele has had its ups and downs throughout its history from lampoonery to instrument of virtuosity and orchestra, of bands and music festivals. It really didn’t need a setback like this. But fair enough, Morrison was giving it a go, which is just a fret or two away from one of his slogans of having a go, gets you a go.

The response from Defence Minister Peter Dutton was ambivalent. “I reckon the ukulele sounded pretty good, I’m not so sure about the singing,” he said.

And whether he knew it or not, Dutton had a point. For this is one tin-eared PM. The ukulele is universally regarded as a Hawaiian instrument. Duh. And what has been one of the major criticisms of Morrison’s conduct in office? That when the east coast was burning, he was on holidays in Hawaii. Quite possibly listening to some ukulele music. Quite possibly, it’s a holiday gift to himself.

Not even autotune can fix that.

An article in The Atlantic in 2015 by Marion Jacobson traced the timeline of the ukulele.

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“The instrument, with its four plastic strings and a short neck, originated in Europe and was introduced to Hawaii in 1879 when a Portuguese immigrant named Joao Fernandez jumped off the boat and started strumming and singing with his branguinha (a small guitar-like instrument, sometimes called the machete),” Jacobson wrote.

“The crowd of Hawaiians were so impressed by his fingerboard prestidigitations that they called the instrument ukulele, which translates to ‘jumping flea’. Fernandez and the instrument became a local sensation, and the reigning monarch Kalakaua even learned how to play it.

“By 1900, the sound of the ukulele was ubiquitous across the Islands, where it was pronounced by Hawaiians as ‘oo-ku-lay-lay’.”

Is this what Morrison wants? A conversion of us all to ukulele players, in harmony, in unison in the church of the four strings?

After its Hawaiian fame, the ukulele traversed the musical and geographical landscape, from Hawaii to the US mainland, from a Sears-Roebuck product to a novelty instrument to being used in films, thank you Elvis Presley, to Tiny Tim, (the audience is divided on this one) to its higher level status now as a legitimate instrument worthy of orchestras and virtuosos (Jake Shimabukuro for instance with “While My Guitars Gently Sleeps“), and legendary songwriters such as Paul McCartney, who played “My Guitar” on a ukulele in homage to George Harrison.

Of course, one shouldn’t expect Morrison to be in such a league, though there have been examples of political leaders being more than a touch musical. Edward Heath had a grand piano brought into No.10 Downing Street, though critics deemed his musical ambitions grander than his proficiency.

American former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has performed with cellist legend Yo-Yo Ma and singing great Aretha Franklin, and made her concerto debut at 15.

And there was Bill Clinton with his sax.

Oh, and of course, there was Nero with his fiddle.

Still, if the PM wants to strum along to Dragon, good luck to him. April Sun in Cuba? Too close to the election. Perhaps afterwards.

CODA: On Monday, Dragon commented on Morrison’s use of their song April Sun in Cuba. “It is a cynical move for a politician to co-opt music in an attempt to humanize themselves come election time. “Maybe if his trip to Hawaii had not been cut short, he could have learnt the lyrics to the rest of the chorus.’’