The
sleeve for the "Tame The Lion" promotional single 45 came with
a sheet of parchment with the lyrics to the song printed on it. The sleeve
itself had a message (presumably written by Emitt himself) to the radio
stations:
"'Tame
The Lion' by Emitt Rhodes is a 'controversial' record because it deals
with something other than puppy love, hard times at the high school
and hot rod Lincolns. It is a song that deals with the tragedy of war
and death, and the immediacy of man's inhumanity to man.
'Tame
the Lion' has a good beat and you can dance to it. It also has a message
that will make you stop dancing for a minute and think. We as record and
radio people are communicators. It is our jobs, ultimately our resposibilities,
to communicate. We must not be afraid to listen and respond. 'Tame The
Lion' should be heard, even though it speaks an unpleasant truth. Before
you decide it is too strong for your audience, scan a newspaper or try
two minutes and 42 seconds of the six o'clock news. If you think it's
all roses, you've been listening to the wrong people."
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