Of snakes and men - Daletski, Krysztof

"An allegorical ballad describing a deliberate escalation. From the album [http://songs.dalitio.de/cd/ "Ein Durakkord schiene mir Übermut"]."

⌛ Period → Contemporary

◈ Genre / Form Secular

♯ Key G major

⁄ Time Signature 3/4

♬ Voicing → SA

◆ Difficulty

Beginner

↕ Range D3 – D5

¶ Language → English

Measures 93

Texture Monophonic

Parts 2

Instruments SA

Pages 2

CPDL # 49449

Editor Christoph Dalitz

Posted 2018-04-27

License Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike

♫Pitch Ranges

MusicXML Part

D3 – E4

¶Lyrics / Text

There's a snake on the ground burrowed into the sand There's no prey and it hides in the shade Despised for a forked tongue and having no legs, But that is just the way snakes are made. There's a crowd coming near of white men, strong and drunk, They're the „crown of creation“ they say, And believe that all evil is due to the snake, Since paradise until today. And the snake lifts its head and it flicks out its tongue: The air smells of upcoming strife. It trembles and knows that a quarrel with men Is a fight it can hardly survive. And the men are so strong, and they feel even stronger, And are so full of pride and are so full of beer. One of them spots the snake, and he takes up a stick; While he swings it, the other men cheer. And the snake lifts its rattle and shakes it aloud In an effort to evade the strife. It has venom, but knows that a quarrel with men Is a fight it can hardly survive. And the sound makes the man even more agitated He yells: „Lo! This vicious beast threatens to fight!“ And he pulls out a gun, points it straight at the snake. And it ends with a shot, and a bite. Now you ask why (I/we) sing such a pitiful song With an end anyone can foresee: Can't you see that exactly this happens right now Just in front of you and me? How our leaders are so full of Western hubris, Determined to make enemies, How they bluster and scream, how they spit and go wild, And there's no one who stands up for peace. The established are silent, no voices of reason In the corporate media press: It is left to ourselves to get out of the crowd, To dissent, and to stand up for peace. It is time for ourselves to get out of the crowd, To dissent, and to stand up for peace.

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