Well said, very well said.

Christ was not only against casting the first stone; he was against casting any stone. He was condemning the hypocrisy of a sinner killing one who had sinned. He was a believer in "Thou shalt not kill." You describe a captured madman who has killed, and you would kill this sick, defenseless human being for nothing more than revenge. That is simplistic, base, immoral, cruel, stupid, and unrighteous. Pure crap. But your pacing is good. Congratulations. 5-1-1.

@ Al - I do appreciate your candor and honest rating. When one sticks one's neck out on an issue like this, such disapproving comments are to be expected. And thank you for acknowledging the technical quality.

A diatribe on the death penalty was actually not my original intention. On this occasion the song was in my head and I was groping around, rhyme-matching with the original words, and it just went in that direction. (I don't always work that way.) I had intended to produce something humorous but it turned out quite morbid, something I believe the site needs less of. But it just turned out that way.

I stand by my views. Murder has a range of complex motives and situations including what in British law is known as 'extenuating circumstances' and in America 'diminished responsibility', along with the various legal 'degrees' of the crime. And insanity can be a legitimate defence.

However crimes such as the Aurora massacre (I won't bother citing the numerous others) are in a whole different category. Killing random strangers is not a cry for help. It's too late for justice, too late for rehabilitation, too late to ask why. Of course people like Holmes are 'sick' and helpless and insane - what else could they be? The perpetrator forfeits his life when he acts, and he knows this, no matter how crazy. Most of them at least have the sense to do it themselves. The only moral solution is to end his life as quickly and painlessly as humanely possible.

Support for the death penalty is a legitimate political viewpoint. Ideally capital punishment should be a rare occurrence, and humaneness is the key, otherwise it makes us like them. I have no wish to see James Holmes lowered balls first into a tank of hungry piranha. But I would like to see him on his way out of a world he has demonstrated he does not belong in.

As for the concept of sin, for me there is no such thing. That doesn't mean I haven't done bad and hurtful things that I'm ashamed of. I have remorse, and an ethical code of my own that is based on the brotherhood and sisterhood of man and I seek to 'make a difference'. Raising such issues in parody is one small way.

Also against the death penalty (it's just as bad as what they did), but this parody was a good write anyway

LL: Please accept my apologies for being needlessly rough on you today. You took it with your usual equanimity. Physically, I'm in very good health, but as I age alone, with kids and grandkids abroad and no means for discretionary spending, I grow gloomy and irritable. With respect to this site, I have become annoyed by the cliques, the fawning over certain "alpha" writers and the generational disconnect between me and the others. They don't know my original songs and I don't know theirs. For me, good song writing ended with Mitch Miller and Elvis, with a brief revival by The Beatles. Lately, I became irritated by a preening parody guru who, in my opinion, misuses the site by turning it into a classroom, and by challenging his brain and others' patience with overly-adorned lyrics. Yes, it was gauche to level a parody at him, but for that I don't apologize. I didn't expect to find history lessons or the specifications of weapons here. Judging by the number of hours they spend at this work, I am beginning to think that many in this crowd have a pathological need for approval. As for me, I need to stay connected with a new-fangled world in which I can be productive. But productivity is meaningless if the product isn't understood or needed. I could write thousands of words on the Golden Age of Music in the Top and Bottom spaces, but I would be imposing myself as much as those I criticize. Anyway, at times it was great fun, but it was just one of those things.

@ Al - thanks for your response and glad to hear you don't have any immediate health issues. I only mentioned that because of some of the topics you've chosen in the past.

'Golden Age' means all things to all people, and like you, I enjoy a lot of music of the pre-rocknroll era. Generally speaking, in the 70s the emphasis shifted from songs to soundscapes and instrumental virtuosity, due to the proliferation of stereo LPs, and radio hits were for teenyboppers. Nevertheless a lot of great songs were written and continue to be. As for the 'evergreens' and standards, they're not called that for nothing. There's also infinite musical exploration in the fields of jazz, blues and bluegrass, ethnic and world music, lounge and healing, and even fusions of all these, but not much of it makes good parody fodder.

There are quite a few promising younger contributors on the site and my lack of knowledge of the material they choose makes it difficult to comment. But there's a niche here for old-timers too. It's natural for people to gravitate towards music of their own generation. There are certain contributors here whose work I invariably enjoy and respect more than others, but the notion of 'elite' or 'alpha' parodists is the wrong way to think about it, I believe.

@ Onslaught - thanks for your support
@ John Lomain - your tolerance for my POV much appreciated

I've voted this 555 because it's perfectly paced, with great subs and the intelligent language I've come to expect from you, Lifeliver. And because I do understand why what this man did evokes these strong feelings in you.

I find it quite difficult to completely agree with the sentiments though, having spent time among mentally ill people and seen 'the other side,' as it were. One young man in particular springs to mind; he had schizophrenia, and in all the time I knew him (admittedly whilst he was in hospital and taking his prescribed medication) he was the sweetest, gentlest and kindest young man you could ever wish to meet. It was only much later that I discovered he'd spent time in a secure prison many years ago - he never said why, only that he'd done "something very bad" and he said it with the saddest, most painful look on his face, as if it still haunted him. I'm not suggesting for a minute that we should 'cut James Holmes some slack' just because he might be schizophrenic... just that, when you've met someone like that tortured young man I met, it's much harder to condemn them for things they may done while in a mindset that can be confusing, unreal and even terrifying. If medication and/or psychiatric captivity does restore some level of sanity to James Holmes some day, he'll have to live with what he did for the rest of his life - and in a lot of ways that'll be worse than death for him. Although of course there's no way of knowing if that'll ever happen... but if it does, it's a more lasting punishment than any form of execution.

Hope all of that didn't sound 'preachy' - that certainly wasn't my intention, and I'm not in any way 'having a go at you' for your views. Parodies are meant to say those things about the world that others shy away from saying - and that takes courage as well as skill. :^)

@ Wendy Thanks for your characteristically thoughtful input here. Don't be afraid to score me down on content if it disturbs you.

I'm not going to prattle on - I've been doing enough of that lately - except to say generally I agree with you about the treatment of mental illness. A society which blames and punishes for it is worthless. Briefly put, I believe mass killings are an exception to that. The perp is conscious of their action and has chosen death. And if they survive it, there is no hope of ever coming to terms with it in their minds, no matter the treatment. I'll leave it at that.

555 on technical quality alone, including some good syllable-matching and the variations of the "seasons" line.

Avoiding the cap-punishment debate, but would like to point out that medicine and psychiatry have shown very little ability to "cure" people who are this far gone, so the taxpayers have to pay several hundred thousands of dollars a year to keep them incarcerated or institutionalized. Just saying.

@ Al Silver: LL was telling us that he disagrees with Jesus of Nazareth, as does about 2/3 of the world's population.
Also, there are degrees of sin, (as expressed by a devout Christian; c.f.
  http://www.amiright.com/parody/60s/dustyspringfield47.shtml )
and humanely executing one person after a public trial and conviction hardly compares with executing masses of innocents.
I assume that had Hitler been captured alive, you would give him a jail sentence vs. execution for war crimes and genocide. Certainly your right to feel that way, but some others feel differently.

Also, please realize that you may not be the only person on the site who is aging, suffering from the recession or otherwise not affluent, etc., but we usually keep it to ourselves or speak lightly of it, rather than as an excuse for bitterness. Responsibility is accepting the consequences of one's words and actions, as has been noted in a convo between us elsewhere. Cheers.

LL & TT: I will emerge from retirement just this once and, as a non-Christian, tell you what I think of your remarks: 1. I'm tired of hearing how expensive it is to keep a murderer imprisoned for his remaining lifetime. All things considered, it's chump change. 2. It is my understanding that Jesus preached forgiveness, and that he did not quantify the criminal's villainy. This concept seems very difficult for so-called Christians (and you two) to deal with, to say nothing of those who run the judicial system in Texas. 3. I do not believe that the taking of life is ever "humane." Painless, possibly, but not humane. 4. From what I know, Jesus would have favored life without a chance for parole for Hitler. If it's what Jesus would do, it's good enough for me. (There goes Al again, with his "Ich liebe Hitler.") Hard to accept, isn't it? I suppose it's very hard being like Jesus. The fact is that killing anybody, except in self-defense, horrifies me. 5. I leave the rest to Coleridge: "He prayeth best, who loveth best; All things both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all." ------- As for my personal sob story, I was responding to LL's concern about my health, and I tried to keep my remarks to a minimum. I am a very private person, so I also do not blow my own horn.

@ Tommy - Thanks once more for dropping in on this with your compliments. It's been pleasing to receive positive comments on the wordcraft, though my take on the issue understandably doesn't sit well with some.

Btw, I don't necessarily disagree with Christ's pacifist message: turn the other cheek, do as you would have others do, consider the lily, blessed are the meek, all that stuff. But the claims of resurrection and subsequent deification is where I get off the bus. That is, if such a person existed at all, which is by no means a settled question, as no-one has come up with anything beyond secondary accounts and hearsay to date.

@Al S - OK, I'll let you have the last word, but I hope it's not your last. Btw, my tribute to another 50s icon who recently left us, which should appear tomorrow in the next batch, was written with some of your observations in mind, so I do hope you'll stick around for that.

"You describe a captured madman who has killed, and you would kill this sick, defenseless human being for nothing more than revenge." Rehab isn't possible for some people...some people need to die... That is simplistic, base, immoral, cruel, stupid, and unrighteous." That is a near perfect description of the vicious primates called Homo Sapiens Sapiens... Excellent job with the lyrics!!!

@ CryHavoc - thanks for sharing your views and your moral support. Nice to see we have some common ground on this issue.