Without A King
("In those days there was no king in Israel.")
(from: Biblical Ballads In A Modern Dress)
There was no King in Israel
That any head inclined to,
And every man, or so they tell,
Did what he had a mind to.
If he desired his neighbor's wife,
He took her and kept her;
For strength was all the law of life,
The sword blade was the scepter.
There was no King in Israel--
Men loved and fought in freedom;
There might have been some laws but--Well,
The people didn't heed 'em;
Men took their grain and wine and meat
According to their power.
The strong ones found it pretty sweeet,
The weak ones pretty sour.
There was no King in Israel--
The land was rife with battle,
Regarding fields whereon to dwell
And game and sheep and cattle.
The righteous wanted fights to cease
Which constantly upset 'em,
They wished to do their work in peace
The wicked wouldn't let 'em.
There was no King in Israel--
And life was far from quiet.
The heathen raged for quite a spell
In revel and in riot;
Life grew too rough for gentle folk,
While wild ones had their fling;
The patience of the righteous broke--
They got themselves a King!
So law and order held their sway
And put down loot and pillage,
And quiete reigned for many a day
On city, farm and village;
For man must live by rules and laws,
But Old Boys love to tell
Of lusty days before there was
A King in Israel!
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