sIx and Peace: Evidently Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" was not gender-neutral, because he referred to joy as a daughter and a goddess. Well dang. Now I know why I'm cranky.

Martin, I don't know what gender-neutral love songs have to do with liberal politics. Whomever the songwriter intended the song for originally--assuming he or she wrote it with a specific person in mind--hardly matters, does it? Unless they are openly gay, performers are left with a conundrum when they want to sing a love song addressed to someone of their own gender. Do they keep the integrity of the song, or do they change the sex of the person they are singing about? Various performers have made various choices, with varying results. For instance, Ella Fitzgerald changed the standard, "Have You Met Miss Jones?" to "Have You Met Sir Jones?" It sounded really dumb. The song was famous enough and so was Ella to let both stand. Judy Collins changed Robin Williamson's "The First Girl I Loved" to "The First Boy I Loved" and changed the line, "I remember your long red hair falling in our faces as I kissed you" to "...falling in our faces as you kissed me," making the boy the active kisser. Interesting things to ponder.

Elmer