On 10/18/07, John Thornton <jthorn65 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> Why all the Bragg bashing over this?
>
> John Thornton
>
>
> The re-writing of the words to the Ninth Symphony's chorus was the
> result of Bragg's offer to help 1,500 children who were scheduled to
> perform it at the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall in London.
>
> "The kids were having trouble with literal translation from the German
> and so when I was at a meeting about the re-opening, I just happened to
> say that if they liked, I would write a couple of new English verses,"
> he said. "They liked what I did so much that they asked me to write
> lyrics to the entire fourth movement."
>
> Bragg noted that his lyrics aren't simply a new translation of the
> original lyric by Friedrich Schiller, but a whole new set of words. He
> kept the sentiment behind one of Schiller's lines as the theme, however.
>
> "A bit of it is inspired by one line of Schiller's: 'All men become
> brothers,' which I think is the most important line anyway," Bragg said.
>
> There are those who will doubtless seek to portray my actions as some
> kind of a betrayal, but that sort tend to be narrow-minded people from
> both sides of the political spectrum who would prefer me to be a
> stereotypical Leftie. I guess they'd find that easier to deal with.
>
> The fact is, you won't see me standing outside Buck House waving a flag
> at the Trooping the Colour any time soon; nor will you find me accepting
> any honours that might be dangled my way.
>
> However, that doesn't mean I can't show some respect for a woman who
> clearly means a great deal to many of my fellow citizens. Surely that's
> what living in our multicultural society entails, isn't it - showing due
> respect for beliefs that you don't necessarily adhere to?
>
> I could have been sniffy, I suppose, and refused to shake her hand, but
> she was good enough to come to my gig and follow my lyrics while they
> were sung. She even asked for my autograph.
>
> Last Tuesday night was very special. I sat with my mother, my missus and
> my son while we listened to a great orchestra and a massive choir
> passionately sing my words to one of the greatest pieces of music ever
> written.
>
> And afterwards, I got to shake hands with the woman who gave the World
> Cup to Bobby Moore. For a boy from Barking, it just doesn't get much
> better than that.
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