Song about Gaza

Subject: Song about Gaza
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 27 Oct 24 - 09:45 AM

https://soundcloud.com/denise_whittle/eyeless-in-gaza-song

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 12 Nov 24 - 08:52 AM

Sorry I got the level wrong (too high) when I recorded this a couple of weeks ago. I think its slightly more bearable.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 21 Nov 24 - 06:35 AM

Could\would you post the lyrics please BAW?

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 21 Nov 24 - 06:53 AM

Thankyou for your interest Freddy. Feel free to change it anyway that suits you. Regards.

Eyeless in Gaza

Strike the Hebew, said the Philistine
For these lands ae surely mine.
The land of Israel must not be
We will drive the Israelites into the sea.
But the Israelites had a champion
Samson was his name
He killed the enemy by the thousand
As down the hill they came.

They couldn’t beat Samson in combat
So they captured him by guile
He was betray’d, captured and both his eyes put out
And set to working at the mill.
But they failed to see when his strength returned
One day chained to the pillars of the ancient temple
He saw a way to fight again
Though the vision would be his last

Eyeless in Gaza,
Denied the blessing of the light
You can blind a man with cruelty
To what is wrong and what is right.

Chained to the pillars of Gaza’s temple
Mocked by the drunks and fools of the town.
Samson felt his strength return
And he pulled that temple down.
And that killed the children in the street, the young people having fun
Folk about their business, and the old men in the sun.
For when the temple lay in ruins, the chaos seemed to spread
And soon the city of Gaza was just a city of the dead

But we’re not eyeless in Gaza
Denied the blessing of the light.
You can’t blind us with your cruelty
To what is wrong and what is right.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 21 Nov 24 - 09:53 AM

Sorry final version - my final version. asi say you change it to suit.

Eyeless in Gaza

Smite the Hebrew,   cried the Philistine
For all these lands are surely mine.
The land of Israel must not be
Drive the Israelites back into the stormy sea.
But the Israelites had a champion
Samson was his name
He killed enemies by the thousand
When down from the hills they came.

They couldn’t beat Samson in combat
So they captured him by guile
He was betray’d, captured,   both his eyes put out
And set to working at a mill.
But they failed to see Samson’s strength had returned
Chained to his cruel past
He saw a way to fight again
Though that vision, it would prove his last

Eyeless in Gaza,
Denied the blessings of the light
You can blind a man with cruelty
To what is wrong and what is right.

Chained to the pillars of Gaza’s temple
Mocked by the drunks and fools of the town.
Samson felt his strength return
And he pulled that temple down.
And that killed the children in the street, just young people having fun
Folk going about their business, and the old men dreaming in the sun.
For when the temple lay in ruins, the chaos seemed to spread
And soon the city of Gaza was just a city of the dead

But we’re not eyeless in Gaza
We don’t have that excuse
Being cruel will only hurts ourselves
And it will blind us to the truth..

Words and music by Alan Whittle©22/10/24

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GerryM
Date: 21 Nov 24 - 03:37 PM

OK, here's my rewrite of the last stanza:

But we're not eyeless in Gaza
We can see what Hamas has done
And we'll smash those fascist butchers
And stay till the victory's won.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw
Date: 21 Nov 24 - 05:15 PM

Well that's not nice and it's especially not nice above the line. At least I can post here to say that, which I wouldn't be allowed to do below the line. Ironic or what. :-(

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 21 Nov 24 - 05:46 PM

Well once the songs out there, people are free to do do what they like with it. I'm not sure you'll change anyone's mind if you call them a fascist butcher, but its your call.

I'm not sure 'niceness' is ever going to be the colour on any artist's palette with this particular subject.

Best wishes to all though.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GerryM
Date: 21 Nov 24 - 08:40 PM

I hope it was clear, Big Al, that it was Hamas I was calling fascist butchers (on reflection, "bloody butchers" might have been better), and I don't expect anything I could say would change the minds of the members of Hamas.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Nov 24 - 05:51 AM

At the end of the day leaders of both sides have ICC arrest warrants issued against them for war crimes. Butchers indeed.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 22 Nov 24 - 10:12 AM

well....tricky stuff!

there was no prospect of peace in northern Ireland whilst Thatcher was publicly calling the IRA, criminals and gangsters. Perhaps what we have now is not perfect, but its better than the bloodbath that was going on then. Even if negotiations are going on in private, I'm not sure that public name calling is productive.

Still as I say, you must follow your own instincts as to what you want to say. And you say it, you have the right, it was fought for.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Nov 24 - 10:53 AM

1200 deaths on one side 45.000 on the other qualifies as butchery I think. But you are right, name calling doesn't help.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GerryM
Date: 22 Nov 24 - 03:28 PM

Anonymous Guest, this thread really isn't the place for it, but I'm curious: how would you have had Israel respond to the massacre of 7 October 2023?

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Nov 24 - 03:45 PM

Do you really want that discussion here? I certsinly don't need to have it. Perhaps take the burden upon yourself and explain why the current course of action was the correct and only one open to them. And don't hide behind the old 'they have a right to defend themselves' because we all know this has gone well beyond that.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw
Date: 22 Nov 24 - 03:59 PM

There's a thread below the line for this. I don't know why I'm telling you that, because I'm not allowed to post there, but for sure this thread is not the place for this discussion.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 22 Nov 24 - 09:35 PM

Its a discussion between a songwriter and a singer. Its the exact place. Just because we don't sing about ee by gum when when beer was tuppence a loaf doesn't meaan you can censor it.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GerryM
Date: 22 Nov 24 - 10:37 PM

I agree with Steve Shaw that this isn't the place for a discussion of Israel's response to the massacre of 7 October, yet I do feel I should respond to our anonymous friend. I have never said that the current course of action is correct and was the only one open to them. I am appalled by the level of destruction that has fallen upon the residents of Gaza. And I am sincere in asking those who, like me, support Israel's right to defend itself, what Israel's response should have been. I haven't been able to come up with an answer myself that satisfies me. I'm open to good faith suggestions, from anonymous guests or others, here or elsewhere (but I won't venture into the cesspit below the line).

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Nov 24 - 11:26 PM

Israel built a wall to keep their kids from being blown up in pizzerias and the result of the wall is now Israel is killing kids in pizzerias.

God only knows what the results of this will be.

I have two Palestinian mixed race step grandchildren. Blood of Abraham and Catholic, which their Nana is very proud of.

Maybe some smart guy could figure out a home exchange between Brooklyn and Gaza City.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GUEST,paperback
Date: 22 Nov 24 - 11:27 PM

^

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 23 Nov 24 - 03:50 AM

It is NOT a discussion about Israel/Palestine.

Its a discussion about a song. The asong was written in the spirit of neutrality. Someone wants to change that - Ive said if a singer wants to adapt a song, that is okay as far as I am concerned. Artistic freedom trumps my point of view.

If you just want to argue about this conflict that has gone on for years - there are indeed other places. This a folk music site . Political folksong has been part of the scene since forever.

Even Thatcher didn't propose that MacColl should have been gagged for talking about Sharpeville in his songs. Neither did Joe Kennedy want to gag Woody Guthrie, when he writing anti-Hitler songs.

You have no rights as regarding songs. Not even I have, and Iwrote the song.

I once wrfote a comic song about a footballer. Then he took a huge transfer fee and went to another club. A naughty version of my song began being sang from the terraces. But that was it - once its written, its in the public domain and its gone - off on a life of its own.

Its the thing I could never get Jim to understand. Its nothing to with royalties and publishing. Anyone can do anything they like.

And this is the place for people who understand that. Not the place for those that want to give their tuppence worth about the price of eggs.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Nov 24 - 06:59 AM

Al, starting from the 8.40 pm post on the 21st there are six posts in a row which are
solely about the conflict and which make no reference at all to the song. I'm not trying to censor anything; even if I had that power I wouldn't use it. I've been shot down here more than once for straying away from musical sentiments in above-the-line threads and I'm happy to go all mea culpa when that happens. The song thread is a great idea and I applaud you for the song and the thread. Again, there's a perfectly good thread on the conflict below the line. I only wish I could join in there, but I'm choosing to refrain from bringing that frustration into this thread. Free country, eh?

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 23 Nov 24 - 10:09 AM

weell I think that's inevitable. in a way that's the job of the song to promote discussion. so i supposeyou're right.

why won't they let you join in the discussion?

I tell you something. I go to a poets evening at a pub in Dorchester called the Poet Laureat! One night I went there and there were ten poets writing about Gaza and reading their poems. All quite independently, it wasn't a set topic or anything.

Its on a lot of peoples' minds, and we need to talk about it.

Best wishes.

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 23 Nov 24 - 03:36 PM

“...you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.” [D.J. Trump, 2017]

But we’re not eyeless in Gaza
Denied the blessing of the light.
You can’t blind us with your cruelty
To what is wrong and what is right.
...
But we’re not eyeless in Gaza
We don’t have that excuse
Being cruel will only hurts ourselves
And it will blind us to the truth..

“Truth” is the hard science of where an American baseball lands after a hit; latitude, longitude, altitude… numbers, not art.

“Right” & “wrong” are the soft science feels about the hard maths of “Fair” or “Foul.” Half the stadium goes one way, half the other. 'Truth' will be found in the colours of their hats and flags.

PS batt(l)ing stats: Bush league AAA for the region (Iran-Iraq, Syria, Yemen &c&c&c&c&c&c...)

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Nov 24 - 06:38 PM

Since you ask, Al, I was banned last January after a fairly mild altercation with a rather sweary dog-loving old fellow. I suppose Al Capone had a similar complaint about going to jail on minor tax charges ;-) I fully respect your admirable conciliatory stance in this thread and, though I have lots to say about the outrage in the Middle East, I'll butt out of this music thread and revel in my life in the wilderness. ;-)

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: Pappy Fiddle
Date: 23 Nov 24 - 10:24 PM

Related to the song...

"Young Folks Old Folks" is an old song about Bible stories. I fiddled with some of the lyrics. My verse 6:

Sampson was the strongest man that ever pumped iron
Slew a thousand Phillistones and even tamed a lion
His fondness for Delilah left him weak as a mouse (pause)
It seems he lost the vision - but he brought down the house

I've recorded this a couple of times, here's one: Try not to grit your teeth

Subject: RE: Song about Gaza
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 23 Nov 24 - 10:56 PM

I've never seen anyone play a fiddle with that fingering. Is that very common in the USA?