I love this song, but I've always been a bit uncomfortable with the lyrics because they seem borderline sexist to me. On the New Golden Ring CD called All the Good People, Sandy Paton sings the lyrics exactly as I posted them above (and of course he does a stunning job). My friend Bob Fitch (now of Santa Cruz) wrote some different lyrics and used them at a funeral of a folkie friend in December, 1997. I can't say I'm completely in love with Bob's version, but it has some good qualities. I do like the "those who left early" verse - because I dearly loved the man it was written for. I hate Bob's "great kiddos" verse - but I have to admit it's pure Bob Fitch.
-Joe Offer-

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ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE
(Ken Hicks - adapted by Bob Fitch)

This is a song for all the good people
All the good people I've known in my life.
This is a song for all the good people
People I'm thanking my stars for tonight.

This is a verse for all the kind people
Who knew what I needed was something they had
Food on the table, a heart that was able
Able to keep me just this side of sad.

This is a verse for all the great kiddos
Whose adventures & questions keep my life new
The hugs and the dancing,
The silly goof prancing
The love that they give recycles anew.

This is a verse for all my work comrades
Whose shared goals & passions help keep our work kind
The caring for others, our sisters & brothers
Surpasses the force of the greed & the grind.

And this is a verse for those who left early
A legacy clear for all friends to see.
The way that life humbles, the joys and the tumbles.
The way that they lived this speaks daily to me.

This is a verse for the pickers and singers
Whose songs & whose voices have blended with mine
On the back steps & stages, for hugs & for wages,
It's some kind of sharing & some kind of fine.