Baker Academic

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Levine's Line Lyrics

Dale Martin's recent cover of Amy-Jill Levine's "Walk the Line" wasn't exactly a studio recording. It was therefore difficult to identify a few of the words. A number of of you (two) cried out in unison demanding to have a transcription of the official lyrics. Because we couldn't disappoint both of our regular readers we took action immediately.


Here are the lyrics:

There is a reason,
Though a part of me
Resides at home in the academy,
That I must say to others
What I see.
that there’s a time
To cross the line.

Some say that scholarship
Must just describe,
And it is either that or
Diatribe.
That is a view to which
I can’t subscribe.
‘Tween text and sign
I draw the line.

I tell the Christians 
Jesus was a Jew,
And what he said
Was often not so new,
And there are things apostles
Misconstrue.
On what’s divine,
I hold the line.

I do believe that truth
Shall set you free.
But who’s constructing
Truth for you and me?
So I’ll insist that with sexualité
All is sublime.
E’en androgyne.

That to laud Jesus,
Jews must all be mean
Is a perspective thoroughly obscene.
Through scholarship this
Position I demean.
Since it maligns,
I write my lines.

The lyric credit is to
Scott Gilbert and Amy-Jill Levine

my thanks to A.-J., 
-anthony

2 comments:

  1. Anthony, I thank A-J (and you) so much! You've made my day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A.J.'s lyrics are very clever, but Gail D's reconstruction is funnier.

    Just saying.

    ReplyDelete