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.


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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