The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #96848   Message #1898290
Posted By: Azizi
02-Dec-06 - 10:33 AM
Thread Name: Looking for songs against racism
Subject: RE: Looking for songs against racism
The same time in school that I learned "One Little Candle" I also learned this version of "No Man Is An Island"

I saw the people gather
I heard the music start
The song that they were singing
Is ringing in my heart

No man is an island, no man stands alone
Each man's joy is joy to me
Each man's grief is my own
We need one another, so I will defend
Each man as my brother
Each man as my friend

-snip-

That song is in the DigitalTradition at @displaysong.cfm?SongID=4250

I can see how strict feminists would have a problem with these lyrics, but it seems to me that woman and sister are implied in the song's lyrics.

The fact that this song is based on the "For whom the bell tolls a poem (No man is an island) by John Donne http://torch.cs.dal.ca/~johnston/poetry/island.html may preclude its use in 'a pub in one of the rougher parts of Dublin' Ireland.

However, I believe that "No Man Is An Island" deserves to be listed along with other songs which express the unity of all people.