Today’s
word to write a limerick for is “inalienable.” As I read the word I
realized that for me, and for a number of people around my age, this
word comes with a tune attached. The tune is by Earl Robinson,
and the words (except for the part “inalienable” is in, which Thomas
Jefferson wrote) are by John LaTouche. The work is “Ballad for
Americans,” written in 1939, when I was four years old, and broadcast
and recorded by Paul Robeson. My family had the recording, and I can
pretty well sing along with it, I listened to it so many times. Robeson
and Robinson, of course, had FBI files, so John LaTouche must have had
one, and if the FBI had existed in 1776, Jefferson would have had one
too.
Here is the beginning of the cantata:
In seventy-six the sky was red
thunder rumbling overhead
Bad King George couldn't sleep in his bed
And on that stormy morn, Ol' Uncle Sam was born.
Some birthday!
Ol' Sam put on a three cornered hat
And in a Richmond church he sat
And Patrick Henry told him that while America drew breath
It was "Liberty or death."
What kind of hat is a three-cornered hat?
Did they all believe in liberty in those days?
Nobody who was anybody believed it.
Ev'rybody who was anybody they doubted it.
Nobody had faith.
Nobody but Washington, Tom Paine, Benjamin Franklin,
Chaim Solomon, Crispus Attucks, Lafayette. Nobodies.
The nobodies ran a tea party at Boston. Betsy Ross
organized a sewing circle. Paul Revere had a horse race.
And a little ragged group believed it.
And some gentlemen and ladies believed it.
And some wise men and some fools, and I believed it too.
And you know who I am.
No. Who are you mister? Yeah, how come all this?
Well, I'll tell you. It's like this... No, let us tell you.
Mister Tom Jefferson, a mighty fine man.
He wrote it down in a mighty fine plan.
And the rest all signed it with a mighty fine hand
As they crossed their T's and dotted their I's
A bran' new country did arise.
And a mighty fine idea. "Adopted unanimously in Congress July 4, 1776,
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
That they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.
That among these rights are Life, Yes sir!, Liberty, That's right!
And the pursuit of happiness."
Is that what they said? The very words.
That does sound mighty fine.
©1939 by Earl Robinson and John LaTouche
You can find all the lyrics here, and also a modernized version by the New York Labor Chorus (which puts in MLK Jr. and JFK— who both had FBI files).
Actually,
according to Word-A-Day, “‘Inalienable’ is the more common variant
today, but it was ‘unalienable’ that was used in the Declaration of
Independence to describe rights like life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.”
When I googled “Ballad for Americans” the Wikipedia article also
came up, and according to that, Bing Crosby also recorded the piece,
and “it was played at both the Republican National Convention and that
of the Communist Party.” But I always hear the Declaration of
Independence in Paul Robeson’s voice.
© 2008 by Nancy Schimmel
Comment
Margaret Jackson
Hi
Nancy, Our chorus performed “Ballad for Americans” in high school in
Astoria, Oregon probably around 1950. Nice to see it again. I still
remember it well.Thanks.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 - 12:18 PM
Friday, July 4, 2008
ALL MY HEROES HAVE FBI FILES (bumper strip)
