The words have been somewhat modified (emasculated) since I learned them.
This is the Peter Wilhousky arrangement that dates from the WWII era and is often performed by choirs. Wilhousky retained the original wording, "as he died to make us holy, let us die to make men free." I know, because I sang those words when performing this arrangement in a choral concert in 1966.
Nowadays, choirs usually sing, "let us live to make men free"--I suppose they have to do so to remain relevant in this age of safe spaces and snowflakes.
Yeah, they have.
Why do people do this?
Change one word a year, and in a hundred years we’ll be singing “I am the very model of a modern Major General...”
“emasculated”
I would like to know how
‘let us die to make men free’
Is a better idea than
,
‘let us live to make men free”?
Even when I was a kid and watched one of the old WW2 pep rally movie I though it odd that you have your troups sining about going to die.
Willing to die for your freedom, but not going to die.