I personally love the song but I heard a stirring performance of it by a young lady with a great voice who sang it with simplicity, compassion and conviction.

I wish more people would take existing tunes and write lyrics about their lives. Woody did it, Dylan did it, and even Francis Scott Key did it with an English drinking song called "Anachreon in Heaven". Seems that America also appropriated the tune for "God Save the Queen". Julia Ward Howe....the list goes on.

How about all those Lutheran church hymns that Bach "stole"?

I'll go out on a limb here and say in my experience that most folksingers do this. They may take a similar theme lyrically and change it to fit their circumstances or write a whole different lyric with melodies they've heard.

I hope that Pete's song has many variants in times to come.

Frank