The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #37513   Message #523301
Posted By: GUEST,Mike (Mainbrace)
08-Aug-01 - 04:22 AM
Thread Name: Sexist lyric? Change it or ....?
Subject: RE: Sexist lyric? Change it or ....?
I would agree with Barry.A change when a word or phrase is would be considered OFFENSIVE , because there is a reason to do so.But if you give way to the extreme view.....How many great songs would have to remain " unsung".In the case of " When all men sing" I have to confess to having a personal Bias.The man who wrote it( SCOWIE) is a Very Close freind. But in it's wider sense the expresions "man..mankind..brother ..brotherhood " have no Gender. You also have to accept that some songs will be written about specifically the role of men OR women in life or history( in Working roles for examample.).You would have to be very carefull not to destroy a song in the process of changing it. To avoid Gender as the issue......I am opposed to Fox-Hunting....Whaling, for example but PLEASE don't let these songs Die!I have this theory that songs have a life of their own , we merely carry them down the years.They survive all kinds of abuse including the words being changed and people who use them for effect( folk? rock etc)But they survive and actively look for people to sing them.( How many have found "A Song"repeatedly "getting" your attention via arecording ; a book; a singing session ?)SONGS ARE A GREAT GIFT Lets be very carefull before we start "changing them" a good test is ..WILL IT BENEFIT THE SONG?????The Folk process has in many cases been at work for decades and the song then settles down in a form that survives maybe for generations.We the suddenly know whats best for the song?????Time I got off my soap box...Mike