Huh, TIL that “O Holy Night” has a rarely sung “””woke””” verse about breaking the chains of oppression, for the slave is our brother.
I sang that song for like a DECADE in choirs and had no idea!
the liberal agenda strikes again. can't even enjoy a nice christmas carol without being forced to acknowledge the inherent humanity of others
“This Land is Your Land” has a verse criticizing the concept of private property that usually gets left out.
Is it in the original French also (I don't know French well enough that I could read the original)? I know the 1855 English translation that has it is supposedly only loosely translated so as to fit the melody and that third verse was especially popular with US abolitionists.
At the opposite end of the spectrum out All Things Bright and Beautiful has a seldom used verse about the rich man at his castle, the poor man at his gate and it being Gods idea to distribute property in this manner. en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/All_Thi...
The first performance of that verse I’d ever heard is also imo the best ever performance of “O Holy Night”: youtu.be/7PdZGY_JDnQ
YouTube video by Ben Caplan
It is my favorite thing ever since I learned that!
I also learned that the French composer who converted the original poem to music was later defamed and accused of being Jewish and a socialist because French Catholics got about the song.