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How Fortunate the Man with None Lyrics
How Fortunate the Man with None
You saw sagacious Solomon
You know what came of him,
To him complexities seemed plain.
He cursed the hour that gave birth to him
And saw that everything was vain.
How great and wise was Solomon.
The world however did not wait
But soon observed what followed on.
It's wisdom that had brought him to this state.
How fortunate the man with none.
You saw courageous Caesar next
You know what he became.
They deified him in his life
Then had him murdered just the same.
And as they raised the fatal knife
How loud he cried: you too my son!
The world however did not wait
But soon observed what followed on.
It's courage that had brought him to that state.
How fortunate the man with none.
You heard of honest Socrates
The man who never lied:
They weren't so grateful as you'd think
Instead the rulers fixed to have him tried
And handed him the poisoned drink.
How honest was the people's noble son.
The world however did not wait
But soon observed what followed on.
It's honesty that brought him to that state.
How fortunate the man with none.
Here you can see respectable folk
Keeping to God's own laws.
So far he hasn't taken heed.
You who sit safe and warm indoors
Help to relieve out bitter need.
How virtuously we had begun.
The world however did not wait
But soon observed what followed on.
It's fear of god that brought us to that state.
How fortunate the man with none.
You know what came of him,
To him complexities seemed plain.
He cursed the hour that gave birth to him
And saw that everything was vain.
How great and wise was Solomon.
The world however did not wait
But soon observed what followed on.
It's wisdom that had brought him to this state.
How fortunate the man with none.
You know what he became.
They deified him in his life
Then had him murdered just the same.
And as they raised the fatal knife
How loud he cried: you too my son!
The world however did not wait
But soon observed what followed on.
It's courage that had brought him to that state.
How fortunate the man with none.
The man who never lied:
They weren't so grateful as you'd think
Instead the rulers fixed to have him tried
And handed him the poisoned drink.
How honest was the people's noble son.
The world however did not wait
But soon observed what followed on.
It's honesty that brought him to that state.
How fortunate the man with none.
Keeping to God's own laws.
So far he hasn't taken heed.
You who sit safe and warm indoors
Help to relieve out bitter need.
How virtuously we had begun.
The world however did not wait
But soon observed what followed on.
It's fear of god that brought us to that state.
How fortunate the man with none.
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It's about how people who have some of the strongest humanly traits end up paying the price for them thanks to others. Amazing song.
Lyrically, this song is a masterpiece. So true in every sense. What is more sad is that history will keep adding lyrics to this song for eternity.
Not a poignant as it used to be in my own mind, that's important..in MY own mind, i was in my twenties when i heard this first, but still powerful it is.I know more about the characters referenced in the song, e.g Ceasar was not a good man, all historians would agree,in comparison with Socrates for instance.
The song is a paradox. It's about the fact that everything has its price. Extraordinary traits in humans sometimes are acted out. A true piece of individual fulfilment. A godly act. These people become extraordinary and remarkable. Then again, this comes at a cost. Fellow citizens are unable to realise this. They are overwhelmed, disgusted or simply not able to draw conclusions from the extraordinary examples. Normal people go with the flow. Following in this case god's rules could mean that they are deaf to step out themselves. Thus they hope to be delivered, but in fact they go nowhere. They are responsible for history repeating itself.
The title is a titular phrase from a Bertolt Brecht poem (just google brecht how fortunate the man with none to read it) emphasizing the distance between then and now. It is a striking phrase, at once both acknowledging and rejecting virtue as a thing to strive for; virtue is what brings ruin to the invoked Ancients, even in their own times. Solomon’s wisdom didn’t help much in the end; Caesar’s courage brought him to an abrupt end; and Socrates’ honesty didn’t match his fate. How much better would it have been had they been just a tad less of themselves, and thus able to save themselves from themselves? To read more, go here: Source: https://discursiveanomalies.com/2016/07/19/brecht-how-fortunate-the-man-with-none/ (you will have to copy & paste it into browser)
"the man with none" is a strange grammatical construction, no? I get a little dizzy about the function of the pronoun "none". Great song though!
“None” in these lyrics refers to the qualities of each of the people named — Solomon had wisdom; how fortunate the man with none. Caesar has courage; how fortunate the man with none. Alternatively, one could say “How fortunate the man with no wisdom” or “How fortunate the man with no courage”.
It’s gramamtically sound.
True, Hollowstone, and the most powerful is the last one, meaning, how much evil would have been avoided throughout history if there were only men w/o religion.