| Fischerspooner – Tone Poem Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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@[MarcelDwayne:20263] Those weren't lyrics -- it's a quote (somewhat mangled) from an 1858 book "Bliss of Marriage: or, How to get a rich wife". Here's the quote from page 77 with a little context: "The still quietude of home throws around the pleasing meditations of youth a delighful charm, and prepares the mind to receive the sweet impress of love and friendship. In the sanctuary of private retiracy where no bustling crowd intrudes, where rivalship meets no incentive to impel its reckless course, and where all is lulled to peace and quiet, is of all places the most appropriate to eliminate the sparkling fires of love and receive in turn the electro-darts of sweet devotion." I don't know how many of the mismatches are due to the person who transcribed it to the textbook, vs. Casey, vs. the person who transcribed it here. :-) |
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| Don McLean – Babylon Lyrics | 8 years ago |
| Ugh, double-posted -- this is the older one. If an admin can delete it, that would be great. | |
| Don McLean – Babylon Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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As others have mentioned, this is based on the first line of Psalm 137; the arrangement is from the 1700s, by Philip Hayes. Psalm 137 is a song of mourning the loss of Jerusalem to Babylon and the exile of the Jewish people around 600 BCE. Here's a common translation: The recording I heard (are there others?) was Don McLean leading the audience in a round. I found an interesting link referencing this or a similar recording (incongruously on Jewish Humor Central, but the page explains what's up): http://www.jewishhumorcentral.com/2014/08/no-jokes-today-its-tisha-bav-day-of.html "Back in 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, singer Don McLean performed his hit song Babylon in front of a live audience and had them singing along with him." The Yom Kippur War was between Israel and several Arab states. I don't know enough about the 1973 war to know whether it was in fact an existential threat to Israel; if it seemed likely at the time, then this would have been apropos. Most of this I learned today when researching the song. Even without hearing the lyrics fully (I come to this site because I don't hear lyrics easily, maybe you do too!) or knowing that backstory, I had a sense of gut-wrenching mourning from this song. It's absolutely haunting. |
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| Don McLean – Babylon Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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As others have mentioned, this is based on Psalm 137; the arrangement is from the 1700s, by Philip Hayes. I found an interesting link referencing the version I heard: http://www.jewishhumorcentral.com/2014/08/no-jokes-today-its-tisha-bav-day-of.html "Back in 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, singer Don McLean performed his hit song Babylon in front of a live audience and had them singing along with him." The Yom Kippur War was between Israel and several Arab states. Psalm 137 is a song of mourning the loss of Jerusalem to Babylon and the exile of the Jewish people. I don't know enough about the 1973 war to know whether it was in fact an existential threat to Israel; if it seemed likely at the time, then this would have been apropos. |
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