Song lyrics with discussion questions

Open the Ground

a song in Eve’s voice by Alicia Jo Rabins/Girls in Trouble

The raven showed us how to open the ground
And feed it what it grew
But all the while as we buried your brother
I was thinking of you

Where would you wander
And would you ever stay
And could I have taught you
Some other way

The pain was so terrible
I thought I was dying
I thought that I would split in two
But a sound came from me
And I opened wide
And then, there was you

I didn’t want to tame you
I loved you as you were
If I’d had a mother
Maybe I’d have learned from her

Will some woman love you
In that faraway place
For the strength in your hands
And the mark on your face

Seven times seven
How much is it worth?
Flaxseed and blood,
All the fruit of the earth.

What did you say
Out in the field that day
And how did he answer you
You always were convinced
That you were somehow less than him
Though I told you it wasn’t true

And who is counted lucky,
the living or the dead
When sin is always crouching
just ahead?

Questions for Discussion

  1. Who is Eve singing to in this song?
  2. What is your response to this song? What emotions or memories does it evoke for you?
  3. Based on this song, how would you describe Eve: what is she like as a person? As a woman? As a mother?

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Song lyrics with discussion questions." (Viewed on November 21, 2024) <https://jwa.org/node/23155>.