In the feudal-slave society of the past, serfs were required to both pay taxes and perform curve labor. This system earned the great hatred and resistance of the unfortunate serfs, and their discontent surfaced in the form of biting satire and violent accusations in their songs. The following verses express this very clearly:

The snow-white tsampa of the lords

Is ground crimson with the blood of serfs;

The magnificent mansions of the lords

Are built from the bones of serfs.

Military tax and horse tax I pay to the county,

Person tax and land tax I pay to the lord;

On a scrap of land, no bigger than the palm of my hand,

Taxes I pay as many as the hairs on my head.

These songs are a direct denunciation of the taxes imposed by the feudal authorities and show that the wealth of the serf-owners was squeezed straight from the poor.

Folk songs also show a spirit of resistance and criticism of the evils of society. For example:

O Tsering Lhagyal, the vulture,

Who lives on the slopes of Shelday Hill,

Beware when you gulp down the corpses

Lest the bones catch in your gullet.

As I till my tiny patch of land,

Should anyone dare to cross and trace a track,

Though born a woman was I,

I must draw my dagger and think of defense.

The moral values of the laboring people are also reflected in a number of folk songs which criticize evildoing and commend merit, while other songs show a longing for a new life and heap praise upon their beautiful native land. Hope shines through these verses:

The dark clouds in the sky

Are not stitched in place;

One day the clouds will part,

And the sun behind will shine out on all.

When two hearts unite as one,

Parents can but leave well enough alone;

When three hearts unite as one,

Landlords should leave well enough alone.

With no other outlet in their miserable lives, serfs and slaves poured out all their aspirations and dreams into songs to their beloved and beautiful land:

U is land of beauty,

Saplings sway to and fro,

The calls of flocks of cuckoos

Sound more melodious than ever.

For centuries feudal serfdom and a theocracy jointly controlled Tibet, and religion remained paramount for five to six hundred years. Although not numerous, several folk songs criticize the rulers?parasitic existence under the pretext of religion. This wry verse expresses it well: