18-Nov-2007, 11:27
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 Re: Michael Row The Boat Ashore
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nefertiti  Hi, Carl.
A couple of questions I forgot to ask. It's about the tense of the song. "Michael, row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Sister, help to trim the sail, hallelujah"
Michael is singular and third person, so is sister.
How come the verse doesn't appear as,
"Michael row s the boat ashore, hallelujah
Sister help s to trim the sail, hallelujah"
1. Does the original verse go like this,
"Michael, you row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Sister, you help to trim the sail, hallelujah"
"You' is omitted. Correct? No - it is a command/request: "Do this". If punctuation was always properly included in texts of poems and songs, they would be much more easily understood!
2. Does 'Sister' refer to Michael's sister or a nun? This song is an evangelical one - brother and sister are symbolic terms for other men and women, who are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Thanks for the details, they help me a lot.  | . |