The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #36564 Message #2379330
Posted By: Genie
02-Jul-08 - 02:19 PM
Thread Name: Lyr ADD: Wasn't That a Time (Hays, Lowenfels)
Subject: Lyrics: Wasn't That A Time? - additional verses
"Soul of man" doesn't strike me as sexist in the same way that "souls of men" would. "Man" is a synonym for "humanity," whereas the singular "person" is not. There's seldom any excuse today for using the word "men" instead of "people" or "all" unless you're tied into a rhyme scheme that requires something with an "en" sound instead of an "eeple" or an "all."
Anyway, since it's an obvious quote from Thomas Paine, I don't think it needs to be rewritten.
As for the verses, this song not only lends itself easily to new ones but almost cries out for them as new history is written and new insights emerge into the old.
Amos, parts of the Sing Out! version verses you posted don't seem to scan with the meter.
Amos - PM
Date: 13 Jul 01 - 06:18 PM
The white man came into this land
(With a banner of hate in a bloody hand) - Sing Out! line
It would scan if you left out "a banner of" and just sang
"The white man came into this land
With hate in bloody hand.
And on that credo he did found
This land -- this "Freedom" ground!
In verse two the second and last lines also have way too many syllables (even if you sing them fast):
"They fought the Russian tanks With stones and bricks"
"Because we feared we might get hurt."
This would fit the meter of the song:
"Hungarians in '66
Fought the Reds with stones and bricks,
But we let them die in blood and dirt
For fear we might get hurt!"