På et tidspunkt i går var jeg lige ved at få spat af julen. En vis person, hvis navn ikke skal nævnes i denne blog, udbredte sig salvelses- og følelsesfuldt om julens betydning for fælleskabet og så videre. Og det var lige før, jeg blev angrebet af juleitis i svær grad. Men så er det, jeg altid kan gribe til Tom Lehrer, der forstå at sætte ord på forlorenhed, dobbeltmoral og andre menneskelige lidelser. I en amerikansk kontektst, ganske vist. Men det står en frit for at overføre det til vores egen andedam…
One week of every year is designated National Brotherhood Week. This is just one of many such weeks honoring various worthy causes. One of my favorites is National Make-fun-of-the-handicapped Week which Frank Fontaine and Jerry Lewis are in charge of as you know. During National Brotherhood Week various special events are arranged to drive home the message of brotherhood. This year, for example, on the first day of the week Malcolm X was killed which gives you an idea of how effective the whole thing is. I’m sure we all agree that we ought to love one another and I know there are people in the world that do not love their fellow human beings and I hate people like that. Here’s a song about National Brotherhood Week.
Oh, the white folks hate the black folks,
And the black folks hate the white folks.
To hate all but the right folks
Is an old established rule.
But during National Brotherhood Week, National Brotherhood Week,
Lena Horne and Sheriff Clarke are dancing cheek to cheek.
It’s fun to eulogize
The people you despise,
As long as you don’t let ’em in your school.
Oh, the poor folks hate the rich folks,
And the rich folks hate the poor folks.
All of my folks hate all of your folks,
It’s American as apple pie.
But during National Brotherhood Week, National Brotherhood Week,
New Yorkers love the Puerto Ricans ’cause it’s very chic.
Step up and shake the hand
Of someone you can’t stand.
You can tolerate him if you try.
Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics,
And the Catholics hate the Protestants,
And the Hindus hate the Muslims,
And everybody hates the Jews.
But during National Brotherhood Week, National Brotherhood Week,
It’s National Everyone-smile-at-one-another-hood Week.
Be nice to people who
Are inferior to you.
It’s only for a week, so have no fear.
Be grateful that it doesn’t last all year!
Tom Lehrer – National Brotherhood Week
@Donald: jeg er overbevist om, at Lehrers tekst vil være aktuel mange Ã¥r frem…
Den er evigt ung, den text, indtil videre i hvert fald. Lad os hÃ¥be at 20. Januar ændrer dette lidt i en anden retning. MÃ¥ske fÃ¥r vi ligefrem brug for en opdatering af Lehrer’s texter?
@AagePK: Tom Lehrer er ikke til at komme uden om.
Tom Lehrer er stadig god at få forstand af. Lyt også til Pollution fra samme LP, That WAS The Year That Was. Indsæt roligt Genetic foran.
Tom Lehrer var fast del af vort engelsk-pensum siden ’65, eftersom vor lærer Ewald Jacobs pÃ¥ Duborg-Skolen havde familiær forbindelse til MIT i Boston, hvor Tom underviste i matematik.