ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 OK, I'm no radical islamist or communist or anarchist or even an alien. And I'm as patriotic as the next Bills fan. But something's always bothered me. Ya know the song "America The Beautiful?" Sure you do. But there's a phrase in the lyrics that is extremely disturbing. "From sea to shining sea" Sea the problem? No? Exactly which seas are they talking about? Still don't sea the problem? You figure it's just the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean? Well cogitate on this. If it's the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, why does the lyric go out of its way to specify "sea?" That's problem #1. And if you take the coward's way out and explain it by saying it's just artistic license, you arrive at the shores of an even bigger problem. The lyric says one sea shines and one apparently doesn't. Does the Atlantic Ocean shine, but the Pacific Ocean doesn't? Or does the Pacific Ocean shine but the Atlantic Ocean doesn't? And exactly how does any ocean shine, anyway? They're just water. Sea the problem, now? With ISIS claiming they are going to attack Washington, DC next, it seems to me like we need to get our patriotic lyrics straight. We can't just go around singing nonsense. I think there might be coded messages in our patriotic songs. The N$A needs to look into this. Somebody better "send lawyers, guns and money." At least that's a lyric that makes tactical sense if the ISIS s**t hits any Bills fan in DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Maybe it's not from sea to shining sea Maybe instead it's from C to shining C From Connecticut to California Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 ocean to ocean doesn't really fit lyrically...sea to shining sea could indicate the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, leaving one ocean in sunlight and one in dark.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Somebody better "send lawyers, guns and money." At least that's a lyric that makes tactical sense if the ISIS s**t hits any Bills fan in DC. keep the lawyers and send some extra 5.56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Waiting for crayonz explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Maybe it's not from sea to shining sea Maybe instead it's from C to shining C From Connecticut to California So which state shines and which one doesn't? Doesn't solve the problem. ocean to ocean doesn't really fit lyrically...sea to shining sea could indicate the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, leaving one ocean in sunlight and one in dark.... So we can only sing pat**ically during the hours when it's night-time for one ocean and daylight for the other? Seems kind of limiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeviF Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 So which state shines and which one doesn't? Doesn't solve the problem. Connecticut obviously shines while California doesn't. You can't polish a turd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keukasmallies Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 I think this warrants a hunger strike until the specific meaning is determined. You first.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Connecticut obviously shines while California doesn't. You can't polish a turd. I was going to say California is the Golden State. But you do make a compelling argument Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 (edited) I think this warrants a hunger strike until the specific meaning is determined. You first.... Well since you brought it up, shouldn't we call it a "food strike," rather than a "hunger strike?" I assume you are suggesting that I go without food, not that I go without hunger. The problem may be bigger than I thought. Edited November 17, 2015 by ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 did the word filter block out 'riot'? or did you use bad words? So we can only sing pat**ically during the hours when it's night-time for one ocean and daylight for the other? Seems kind of limiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 (edited) I have issues with writing pat** with or without "ically" on the end. Edited November 17, 2015 by ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 hahahahahaha....right over my head....i honestly thought the bad word filter found something I have issues with writing pat** with or without "ically" on the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Back when the song was originally written, a crew member on a sailing vessel or ship was often referred to as a seaman. Sometimes, when a seaman returned from a trip, the seaman's head would show signs of sun burn and flakiness. So the captain would order the seaman to apply an ointment made of aloe and peppermint. This proved slippery but extremely moist and shiny. When the song was written, it was not uncommon to see shiny seaman all over town on the east coast, especially in areas of Boston and NYC. So the song refers to shiny seamen (shining "sea" short for seamen). Look it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Back when the song was originally written, a crew member on a sailing vessel or ship was often referred to as a seaman. Sometimes, when a seaman returned from a trip, the seaman's head would show signs of sun burn and flakiness. So the captain would order the seaman to apply an ointment made of aloe and peppermint. This proved slippery but extremely moist and shiny. When the song was written, it was not uncommon to see shiny seaman all over town on the east coast, especially in areas of Boston and NYC. So the song refers to shiny seamen (shining "sea" short for seamen). Look it up. shiny slippery seamen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Hey Pal: "This land is your land This land is my land From California to the New York island; From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and Me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 I got your sea.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Back when the song was originally written, a crew member on a sailing vessel or ship was often referred to as a seaman. Sometimes, when a seaman returned from a trip, the seaman's head would show signs of sun burn and flakiness. So the captain would order the seaman to apply an ointment made of aloe and peppermint. This proved slippery but extremely moist and shiny. When the song was written, it was not uncommon to see shiny seaman all over town on the east coast, especially in areas of Boston and NYC. So the song refers to shiny seamen (shining "sea" short for seamen). Look it up. I tried to look it up by googling "the song refers to shiny seaman." The results were inconclusive, but I did find this: http://www.paulandstorm.com/lyrics/the-captains-wifes-lament/ And if "sea" is short for seaman as you claim, the lyric in question becomes: "from seaman to shining seaman" Somewhat less disturbing, perhaps, because I can understand how there might be more variation in relative shininess between two different seamen as opposed to between two different bodies of water. But your suggestion raises more questions than it answers. Here's just one: In my experience, seamen have a tendency to sail all over the place. Given their mobility, how are we supposed to know just which places we are singing about? If seamen wind up shining in Newfoundland, I could be singing about Canada and not even know it. Let the Canadians get their own song - - make it about polar bears or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricojes Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 (edited) idiom much...? Edited November 17, 2015 by ricojes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dib Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Dancing: Close navel contact without loss of seamen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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