‘Florence’: A Statistics Song

Lyric ©2017 Lawrence Mark Lesser

To the tune of Julie Gold’s Grammy-winning song “From a Distance,” a No. 2 hit for Bette Midler during the first Gulf War.

This new lyric honors the approaching bicentennial of the birth of Florence Nightingale, adapting her quote: “To understand God’s thoughts, we must study statistics, for these are the measure of His purpose.”

With statistics,
many soldiers were saved
in the Crimean War.
With statistics,
Florence Nightingale
found what made the death rate soar.
With statistics, Florence graphed the data
in innovative ways:
A rose diagram, circular histogram,
a polar area display.

With statistics,
uncleanliness was found
to have caused those extra deaths.
With statistics,
Florence led reform
to cheap ativan no prescription implement what was best.
With statistics, she founded modern nursing
with brilliance and compassion:
She gave herself to the cause of health,
she took bold action.

God is teaching us, God is teaching us,
God is teaching us through statistics.

With statistics,
England and India
were healthier places to live.
Oh, statistics
shone like the lamp
Florence brought from bed to bed.
With statistics, she set an example
of vision and of strength:
More than pie charts, her mind and heart
would light and lead the way.