Posted by Quixie at 10:26 PM
Read our previous post
I absolutely adore Aretha Franklin's singing voice. It soothes my savage breast. She made a gospel recording some time in the mid seventies. The opening song is called "Mary Don't You Weep"
Lovely music.
Earlier today, while listening to NPR I heard one of the old classic folk singers singing the tune (I'm sure it wasn't Pete Seeger, but I can't recall who it was). Anyway, the absurdity of the song's lyric hit me like a joke for the first time:
Oh Mary don't you weep
Mary don't you weep
Pharaoh's army got drownded [sic]
Oh Mary don't you weep
Can anyone tell me what the hell this song is about?
I suppose that, if I really needed to, I could concoct and spin a nice little epicycle to make sense of it.
Just thought this was funny, all of a sudden.
Funny! Guess you were too carried away by Aretha's voice to notice.
ReplyDeleteMiriam don't you weep? No, she was dancing... It's tough, all the people who would be comforted with a song in the bible would be the people rejoicing over Pharaoh's drownded army.
I know some progressive Passover seders include a remembrance for the pain experienced by the Egyptians, maybe Miriam could be shoe-horned in there. ;^)