My generation has very little political music. The turmulous decade of the 1960's and '70's resulted in many amazing protest songs. The Bush years, not so much. Which is why I was so surprised to run across this Linkin Park song on my iphone (note: my husband fills my phone with music, so I am constantly stumbling across new songs.)
I first heard it at work, while only half paying attention. Linkin Park is known for their punk metal songs, and I am not complaining, I like their "punkier" music and heard them play live when I lived in South Florida. I have loved their music since I first heard it nine years ago. But this song was different than the music they are known for. This song was haunting and melodic. When it ended, I immediately put it on repeat as I kept working. Slowly, the lyrics seeped into my brain, displacing my work stupor.
"Wait a minute," I thought, "this song is about Hurricane Katrina." I listened more carefully and came to the conclusion it is a song addressed to President Bush from the victims of this horrific event.
"Don't want to reach for me, do you?/I mean nothing to you/the little things give you away."
I think about the "little things" that President Bush chose to tend to that week in late August 2005: the Crawford ranch vacation, birthday cake with John McCain in Arizona strumming a guitar, the impotent fly-over a drowned city on Air Force One, and finally, the empty words and staged press conference in the French Quarter.
Man, that guy was an a**hole!
"The Little Things Give You Away" is a song powerful and honest in its simplicity. If you get a few minutes, please take a listen.
1 comment:
Another great Bush-protest song is Capital G by Nine Inch Nails. It took me a few listens to realize what it was saying.
"I used to stand for something/ now I'm on my hands and knees/ trading in my god for this one/ and he signs in his name with a capital G"
Post a Comment