Weblog Entry - 12/05/2003: "Hearing what you want or expect"

12/05/2003 Entry: "Hearing what you want or expect"

I mentioned Wood's article about Blake yesterday, and I'm cut to the quick at his suggestion that I didn't take the ensuing conversation seriously. ;o)

For those of you who haven't been paying attention (Stop fidgetting at the back! Yes, you!) the issue concerns the hymn Jerusalem and its patriotic associations. Wood's point is that William Blake did not intend his original poem that way, and that he would be horrified at this appropriation of it. But the combination of a stirring tune by Parry and the words about England's green and pleasant land make the patriotic association pretty well inevitable - provide, that is, you don't actually listen to what the words say! There is a gap between what Blake meant and what most of us hear when the hymn is sung.

There are other examples of this. You remember when Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA was adopted in a certain election campaign? Some can even listen to This Land and admire the fervour of its patriotism. Which is a shame -- it really doesn't have any, at least in the conventional flag-waving sense. Similarly, when Irish band Stiff Little Fingers sang (yelled!) White Noise they delighted skinheads and appalled woolly liberals with the overt racism of its lyrics (I invite the easily offended not to be too hasty here)

Rastus is a nigger. Thug mugger junkieBlack golly gob. Big horny monkey.Pimp pusher coon. Grinning piccaninniesSend him home soon. Back to the trees.
Black wogs, black wogs. Face don't fitBlack wog, black wogs. Ain't no Brit.

You can see why the skinheads loved it, and why those of a more liberal persuasion were horrified. But you can only take this as racist if you don't listen to the rest of the song, remembering that those singing (yelling) are Irish

Stick together we'll all be white me and youThe only colours we need are red, right and blue.
Paddy is a moron. Spud thick Mick.Breeds like a rabbit. Thinks with his pick.Anything floors him if he can' fight or drink it.Round them up in Ulster. Tow it out and sink it.
Green wogs. Green wogs. Face don't fit.Green wogs. Green wogs. Ain't no Brit.
If the victim ain't a soldier why should we care?Irish bodies don't count. Life's cheaper over there.
Green wogs. Green wogs. Face don't fit.Green wogs. Green wogs. Ain't no Brit.Green wogs. Green wogs. Get 'em boys.Green wogs. Green wogs. Turn up the white noise.

(I predict that Andrew Careaga will be the one to spot the accidental-on-purpose amendment I've introduced here. I'm a sensitive soul really)

It isn't just song lyrics. John Wesley's (in)famous formula "Gain all you can / Save all you can / Give all you can" was quoted by Mrs Thatcher more than once as proof that Wesley would have approved her brand of capitalism, though I doubt she ever bothered to read any deeper to find out what Wesley might have really meant. (In this case, it was Wesley's own fault but that doesn't affect my argument here). She took the words as affirmation of her position and used them accordingly. If they hadn't seemed so amenable, no doubt she would have just ignored them.

But we all do that to an extent. Every preacher I know speaks of occasions when it has been obvious that the sermon they preached was not the one the congregation heard. Unless we stay "alert and watchful", it is easy to listen to others knowing it advance what they're going to say and judging it accordingly for good or ill. I've even -- believe it or not! -- seen people react to blog entries this way. Really listening is hard work sometimes, especially when we have to hold our prejudices in check to do it. But the song lyrics show us it's going to be essential to mutual understanding.

Replies:

Don't do that Carroll Chip in!

Posted by Richard @ 12/06/2003 08:00 AM CST

You guys are just to darn smart and erudite for me. I'll just be a silent observer from now on.

Posted by C Sickles @ 12/06/2003 03:54 AM CST

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