MaMusic stirs the heart through deep soul felt lyrics and sparse supportive instrumentation. Sarah and Karisha together create original music that breathes. Tight vocal harmonies ring out a cappella or blend with upright bass, mandolin, guitar, and flute to deliver a message of living joyfully on this planet Earth."
Salem
MaMuse Lyrics
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And the corn wouldn't grow
Little baby's sick
In the house next door
So much disaster
And who's to blame
So they called her out
And they made her pay, made her pay
Accusations flew
You killed my cow
You killed my chickens, too
Oh poor little girl
What could you do?
Nothin'!
One two three four
Will she hold her breath
A few seconds more?
Five six seven eight
Will she sink to the bottom
Or burn at the stake?
Then they marched them through
That dusty little town
While the children hung
On the backs of their gowns
There must have been a hundred
Or maybe two
But I swear I never saw nothin'
Of a witches brew, of a witch's brew
Hey mister, when I look in your eyes
All I see is fear of a woman who's wise
If she's a witch
You must be the devil in disguise
One two three four
Will she hold her breath
A few seconds more?
Five six seven eight
Will she sink to the bottom
Or burn at the stake?
Will she sink to the bottom
Or burn at the stake
Bye, Bye Mother
Bye, Bye Sweet Mary Sue
You were taken
From our little home
Now at the bottom of the river's
Where we'll find your bones
Oh, God, what have we done
A town of motherless children
Meanwhile. . .
Their torches still burn
One two three four
Will she hold her breath
A few seconds more?
Five six seven eight
Will she sink to the bottom
Or burn at the stake?
One two three four
Will she hold her breath
A few seconds more?
Five six seven eight
Will she sink to the bottom
Or burn at the stake?
Will she sink to the bottom
Or burn at the stake?
The song "Salem" by MaMuse is an ode to the women who were accused of witchcraft and ostracized by their communities in the infamous Salem Witch Trials. The lyrics describe the devastation caused by a widespread belief in witchcraft, where innocent people were accused and punished for crimes they did not commit. The first stanza sets the stage for the horrors that follow, where the sun wouldn't shine, and the corn wouldn't grow, and babies were getting sick. In such a hopeless scenario, the people began to point fingers, and in their desperation, they accused a little girl of being a witch, making her pay for crimes she never committed.
The chorus of the song repeats the same question, "Will she hold her breath a few seconds more? Will she sink to the bottom or burn at the stake?" This line has a haunting quality to it, as if to suggest that no matter what the accused did, they were going to be punished regardless. The lyrics continue to describe the march of the accused through the town, where the children hung onto the backs of their gowns. People accused the women of brewing witch's potions and playing with the devil's magic, despite the fact that witchcraft was nothing more than a superstition.
The final verse of the song is a poignant goodbye to all the women who were put to death for the false accusations made against them. The "torch still burns" in the town, even though the accused were long gone. The song is an emotional tale of an unfortunate event in history, where innocent women were victimized, and their memories still haunt us today.
Line by Line Meaning
The sun wouldn't shine
Nature was not kind in that place, and the brightness of hope and prosperity was not visible
And the corn wouldn't grow
The main source of food and livelihood was failing to thrive
Little baby's sick
An innocent child was suffering from an illness
In the house next door
The misfortune was close and affecting the people living in the vicinity
So much disaster
General calamity and distress was prevalent in the town
And who's to blame
Nobody was sure about what caused the problem or who was responsible
So they called her out
The people accused a particular woman for causing the situation
And they made her pay, made her pay
The woman was punished and held accountable for everything wrong that had happened
Fingers pointed
The people were accusing and blaming the woman without concrete proof
Accusations flew
The accusations were not based on logic, but rather on people's suspicions and emotions
You killed my cow
The people were blaming the woman for the death of their livestock
You killed my chickens, too
People were blaming the woman for the death of their poultry
Oh poor little girl
The situation was so bad that even the accused woman was a victim
What could you do?
The woman was helpless and unable to change the situation
One two three four
Will she hold her breath
A few seconds more?
Five six seven eight
Will she sink to the bottom
Or burn at the stake?
The townspeople were torturing and punishing the accused woman
Then they marched them through
That dusty little town
While the children hung
On the backs of their gowns
The townspeople had humiliated and disgraced the accused woman by letting the children witness her punishment
There must have been a hundred
Or maybe two
But I swear I never saw nothin'
Of a witches brew, of a witch's brew
The people were blindly following the idea of the woman being a witch without evidence or proof
Hey mister, when I look in your eyes
All I see is fear of a woman who's wise
If she's a witch
You must be the devil in disguise
The people who accused the woman of being a witch were the ones who were actually evil and cowardly
Bye, Bye Mother
Bye, Bye Sweet Mary Sue
You were taken
From our little home
Now at the bottom of the river's
Where we'll find your bones
Oh, God, what have we done
A town of motherless children
Meanwhile. . .
Their torches still burn
The townspeople had taken away the accused woman from her family and home and had drowned her in the river. Now, the town was filled with fatherless and motherless children. But the townspeople were still continuing to persecute people unfairly
Will she sink to the bottom
Or burn at the stake?
The townspeople were punishing and torturing the woman without any mercy or pity
Contributed by Julia D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.