Unlike Suibhne, I like this song quite a bit and have even been known to sing it. I have no quarrel with songs that wear their heart on their sleeve, plenty of the best songs do just that.

I have a big gripe with those performers who make too big a production of such songs, laying themselves open to ridicule (although clearly that is their choice) and leaving the song itself begging to be parodied. Having recently heard a rather public butchery oh the KoR, I feel less guilty about my enjoyment both of good performances of the song and of its better parodies (Les Barker's 'I bought the King of Rome' is a cracker, and I quite like the one Micca posted).

A major factor in all such songs, I find, is how frequently they are encountered. One decent performance a year is enough for many. They are like salt in the diet, necessary but liable to be emetic if overused.