Music Monday – If I Be

20 December 2010
By

The present subjunctive is rare in modern English, surviving largely in elevated rhetoric. 

Yet, when inspired to throw down a Latin rock song on revenge (especially one which references an anecdote about Caesar’s interrupted rhetorical training) I decided that the phrase “if i be” make the best title, despite its unusual grammatical mood.

take time, make me
_into what you want, me
__into what you need

break me down
_into fine pieces, grind me
__so you feed, i bleed

and if i be less hungry
_will that make me less real?
and if i be less angry
_will you still let me feel?

twist me, play me
_in my trust, betray me
__with your trash, your fear

and i keep my silence
_even words are violence
__in your twisted ear

and if i be less hungry
_will that make me less real?
and if i be less angry
_will you still let me feel?

release in anger
_what you want no longer
__you may meet again

because, like a ransomed Caesar
_i’ll return much stronger
__i’ll return my pain

and if i be less hungry
_will that make me less real?
and if i be less angry
_will you still let me feel?

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