The Rising of the Star - variations

[Chris and Elisabeth Zakes]

At 10:35 AM 4/18/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Lord Larkin O'Kane responded to:
>
>On Fri, 18 Apr 1997 01:45:50 -0500, Sir Burke Kyriell MacDonald wrote:
>
>>I notice in the various versions of this song that have been posted here
>>over the last few days that some of the verses have change over the years.
>>A few have become more (politically Correct??).  So do we hold true to the
>>original versions or do we teach the newer versions of those verses?
>
>:Leave it up to the performer!
>----------
>The performer will perform the way they learned.  What Sir Burke is asking
>is "what should the TEACHER teach?".  I'm in favor of the original. 
>Besides, it goes against the fabric of a TRUE Bard to change something they
>pass on, as one of the roles of a Bard was to pass on oral tradition in a
>society that was basically illiterate.


Speaking as the author of a couple of the "variant" verses (for example,
the one aimed at the Midrealm was a variant of the original first verse
aimed at Atenveldt; it was written at the time of the Ansteorra/Midrealm
war) *I'd* say sing the ones you like.

"That's how folk songs get created--you can't remember all the words, so
you make up new ones."   -Pete Seeger

	-Tivar Moondragon