There are seven or eight versions of this song running around YouTube, but while this one has fewer hits than the most popular version, this one has the clearest message. It is political commentary at its finest, a folk song as relevant today as it was in 1966, when the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme was originally released.
I dare anyone to listen to the lyrics and not be moved.
How different in our times, when we can exchange Aurora and Sandy Hook for Richard Speck, Cory Monteith and Paul Walker and for Lenny Bruce, Abu Ghraib and Afghanistan for Vietnam and more?
When I say we still have a long way to go, this is precisely what I mean.
Silent Night, indeed.