I've always said (and you know that I'm the ultimate
authority) that songs are poetry set to music.
Depending on the song, you can find a lot of truth in the lyrics, which
is why so many people have written and identify with songs over the ages.
On May 15, 1963, the
song "If I Had a Hammer", won
a Grammy for Peter, Paul and Mary.
Written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays in 1949, it was a song that
supported the progressive movement .
Like most folk songs, it was recorded by a number of people such as Johnny
Cash, Sam Cooke, Trini Lopez, Aretha Franklin and of course, Peter, Paul and
Mary.
The song was also an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement of
the 1960s.
The power of the song , is how the lyrics so clearly state
that each of us has the power within us to make change. We don't have to wait on others to make the
first move. At first glance, though,
that may seem like the case:
"If I had a hammer/I'd hammer out love between my
brothers and my sisters all over this land...."
The use of the conjunction "if" creates a subordinate
clause that says if the singer had such equipment, he/she would do the
following things. The song starts out
talking about all the things the singer would do "if" they had a
hammer, a bell and a song.
By the end of the song, however, we see that he/she does
have the equipment needed and thus can go out and make a mark in the world.
"Well, I've got a hammer, and I've got a bell, and I've
got a song to sing.....it's the hammer of justice, it's the bell of
freedom, it's the song about love
between my brothers and my sisters...."
Do you have a hammer?
A bell? A song? All three? Then
you are more than ready to effect change in your corner of the world.
Do it.
Dahlia
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