Lyr Add: All the Weary Mothers of the Earth (Baez)

Subject: Lyr Add: ALL THE WEARY MOTHERS OF THE EARTH (Baez)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 19 Nov 13 - 12:54 PM

ALL THE WEARY MOTHERS OF THE EARTH
Written by Joan Baez
As recorded by Annie Patterson on "Mountain Side" (2011)

All the weary mothers of the earth will finally rest.
We will take their babies in our arms and do our best.
When the sun is low upon the field,
To love and music they will yield,
And the weary mothers of the earth will rest.

And the farmer on his tractor and beside his plow
Will stand there in confusion as we wet his brow
With the tears of all the businessmen.
See what they have done to men!
And the weary farmers of the earth shall rest.

And the aching workers of the world again shall sing.
These words in mighty choruses to all we'll bring.
We shall no longer be the poor.
No one owns us anymore,
And the workers of the world again shall sing.

When the soldiers burn their uniforms in every land,
And the foxholes at the borders will be left unmanned,
General, when you come for the review,
Your troops will have forgotten you,
And the men and women of the earth shall rest.

General, when you come for the review,
Your troops will have forgotten you,
And the men and women of the earth shall rest.

[Joan Baez sings a song called LAS MADRES CANSADAS (ALL THE WEARY MOTHERS OF THE EARTH) on her albums "Gracias a la Vida (Here's to Life)" (1974) and the 4-CD box set "The Complete A&M Recordings" (2003). The tune is the same, but all the words she sings are Spanish, and therefore I can't transcribe them, but I think the above lyrics are a translation of Baez' words. Baez is credited as the songwriter on Patterson's album (according to Allmusic.com), but I'm not sure that means Baez wrote both the Spanish and the English versions. As far as I can tell, Baez never recorded an English version of this song.]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All the Weary Mothers of the Earth
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Aug 16 - 07:59 PM

Here's the Annie Patterson recording of the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sN_w-ljS10

I can't quite make out what she's singing in the second verse. Here's what's in the second verse in the Rise Up Singing Songbook (which Annie edited)

And the farmer on his tractor and beside his plow
Will stand there in confusion as we wet his brow
With the tears of all the businessmen
Who see what they have done to him
And the weary farmers of the earth shall rest.

---

Here's my transcription of a Baez recording I found on YouTube. I can't tell the date of the recording, but I'm guessing it's recent because of the heavy orchestration:

ALL THE WEARY MOTHERS OF THE EARTH
(Joan Baez)

All the weary mothers of the earth will finally rest.
We'll take their babies in our arms and do our best.
When the sun is low upon the field,
To love and music they will yield,
And the weary mothers of the earth shall rest.

And the farmer on his tractor and beside his plow
Will stand there in confusion as we wet his brow
With the tears of all the businessmen
Who see what they have done to him,
And the weary farmers of the earth shall rest.

And the aching workers of the world again shall sing.
These words in mighty choruses to all we'll bring.
We shall no longer be the poor.
For no one owns us anymore,
And the workers of the world again shall sing.

And when the soldiers burn their uniforms in every land,
The foxholes at the borders will be left unmanned,
General, when you come for the review,
Your troops will have forgotten you,
And the men and women of the earth shall rest.

General, when you come for the review,
The troops will have forgotten you,
And the men and women of the earth shall rest.

---

Joan Baez recording (don't know the date): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqQcaWpwCrM

Subject: ADD: Las Madres Cansadas (Joan Baez)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Aug 16 - 08:19 PM

I found a YOuTube recording with lyrics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dLMpkQF3Sw

Versión en castellano que forma parte del disco "Gracias a la vida"

LAS MADRES CANSADAS
(Joan Baez)

[All The Weary Mothers Of The Earth]

Cada madre agobiada ya descansará
Y en nuestros brazos sus criaturas reposarán
Cuando el sol se pone sobre el campo
Amor y música les brindaremos
Y las madres cansadas ya descansarán.

Y el campesino con su arado y su tractor
En la frente la extraña frescura sentirá
De las lágrimas de pena
Derramadas por los comerciantes
Y los agricultores ya descansarán

Los trabajadores dolientes de la tierra
Otra vez el himno tan resonante cantarán
¡Ya no seremos los pobres!
¡Ya no viviremos en esclavitud!
Y los trabajadores luego cantarán.

Cuando los soldados sus garitas dejarán,
Y en las trincheras sus uniformes quemarán...
Oh, mi general, tus fieles tropas
Ya se habrán olvidado de ti
¡Y la gente del mundo ya descansará!

---

Here's a recording of Baez singing the song in Spanish:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDrUEfmGB-8