“My children were raised”

My children were raised, you know they suddenly rise
They started slow long ago, head to toe
Healthy, wise, and wise

From “Heroes and Villains” (music by Brian Wilson, words by Van Dyke Parks)

I am happy to learn that the verb raised in this, one of my favorite songs, is okay by Bryan Garner. From Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day, on raise and rear:

The old rule, still sometimes observed, is that crops and livestock are “raised” and children are “reared.” But today the phrase “born and raised” is about eight times as common in print as “born and reared.” And “raise” is now standard as a synonym for “rear” — e.g.: “My mother raised me to be polite.” Mary Newton Brudner, The Grammar Lady 57 (2000). Indeed, “born and reared” is likely to sound affected in American English.

Bryan Garner, author of Garner’s Modern American Usage (Oxford University Press, 2009), offers a free Usage Tip of the Day. You can sign up at LawProse.org. Orange Crate Art is a Garner-friendly (and VDP-friendly) site.

My favorite Parks interpretation of “Heroes and Villains” comes from a 2010 NPR appearance. The introduction to the song starts at 26:57: Van Dyke Parks and Clare and the Reasons at the World Café.