Yes Bob,

You are correct, but the tag line for each verse remains the same. I would have to find a word to replace -young "thing".

I think perhaps it is a generational thing. I have been calling this song to my seniors who are about 75% women in their 70's and 80s and they sing along. No objections. In fact many remember it as a child. There are certainly some contra venues where I would expect a similar response, but others that would cringe.

"Such a sweet young thing" used to be a term of endearment for Ladies and Gents, but times change.

In MWSD, boys and girls are the default role terms, and I called MWSD for 25 years. However, I remember accidentally using the term girls in a square for a contra community a few years back, and immediately after the square, I had a dancer approach me and voice her concerns.

This is one of the reasons I posed the original question.

Peace,

Rich

On Sun, Mar 25, 2018 at 9:35 AM, Bob Hofkin via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

If I recall the folk song, it's more satirical--she can bake a cherry pie and stuff, and turns out to be older than Billy lets on. See if you can't find lines in one of the versions that shift the focus.

Bob

On 3/25/2018 02:07, Don Veino via Callers wrote:

I've started doing singing squares over the past year and have been making
adjustments to lyrics for each one I do. So far the changes have been
relatively easy - mostly eliminating explicit gender and talking to
everyone whenever possible vs. a "talk to the (assumed) lead" focus.

There are real challenges for me in some popular ones - for example,
despite the fun of the sequence, Smoke on the Water's
https://squaredancehistory.org/items/show/1383 refrain's primary phrase
essentially amounts to "we'll kill 'em all" - as it's taken from a 1944
WWII song. I'm personally not ready to call that knowing the meaning and a
significant re-wording of the key refrain is not likely to go over well
with fans of the dance.

On Sun, Mar 25, 2018 at 1:39 AM, Alexandra Deis-Lauby via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

People are not things. I don’t think it’s appropriate for any crowd.
Try your hand at some new lyrics!

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 25, 2018, at 1:12 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

Hello folks,

I have been calling singing squares for years, and there is one I love by
Dick Leger titled Billy Boy. The tag line that is sung during the
Promenade is "She's a young thing, that cannot leave her mother."

Here is a link to a version of the full song, not within a square.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKRJuLHU3Qo

My question is, is this song appropriate for the contra dance crowd with
the tag line above? (The tag line is the only line that is sung.)

Any Thoughts?

Rich
Stafford, CT

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