The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #117818   Message #2542286
Posted By: Bill D
18-Jan-09 - 12:26 PM
Thread Name: Hard Times (come again no more)versions
Subject: RE: Hard Times (come again no more)versions
I am beginning to see a pattern in the way various folks phrase the first line...

Some say "...while we-all sup sorrow with the poor.". with the two words made into almost a single word with emphasis on the 2nd syllable.

Others very carefully say "...while WE all sup sorrow...". It not only affects the phrasing, it also changes the essential point of the line a bit. I don't know, in each case of course, whether it was a musical decision or an analytic one about social classes.

(and several folks completely change the words... one to "...while we all share sorrow with the poor.", which may or may not be be equivalent to "sup">). It sure doesn't 'feel' the same.