Friday, March 26, 2004

Actual text of Gettysburg Address found, yo

"Foe sco'e and seven years ago our faders brought fo'd on dis continent some new nashun, conceived in liberty and dedicated t'de proposishun dat all dudes are created equal. Now we is engaged in a great civil war, testin' wheda' dat nashun o' any nashun so's conceived and so's dedicated kin long endure. We is met on some great battlefield uh dat war. Ah be baaad... We gots mosey on down to dedicate some po'shun uh dat field as some final restin'-place fo' dose who here gave deir lives dat dat nashun might live. It be altogeda' fittin' and propuh' dat we should do dis. But in some larga' sense, we kinnot dedicate, we kinnot consecrate, we kinnot hallow dis ground. De brave men, livin' and wasted who struggled here gots consecrated it far above our poo' powa' to add o' detract. Man! De wo'ld gots'ta little note no' long rememba' whut we say here, but it kin neva' fo'get whut dey dun did here. It be fo' us de livin' rada' to be dedicated here t'de unfinished wo'k which dey who fought here have dus far so's nobly advanced. It be rada' fo' us t'be here dedicated t'de great tax' remainin' befo'e us--dat fum dese hono'ed wasted we snatch increased devoshun t'dat cause fo' which dey gave da damn last full measho' man uh devoshun--dat we here highly resolve dat dese wasted shall not gots got wasted in vain, dat dis nashun unda' God shall gots some new bird uh freedom, and dat guv'ment uh de sucka's, by de sucka's, fo' de sucka's shall not puh'ish fum de eard."

(via the Dialectizer)