| Paul Simon – The Cool, Cool River Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I think about the South Americans here: lots of migrant workers came from the countryside and live in hotels, and sometimes the hate is there even when a gun is not. That image captures the anger and the helplessness. | |
| Paul Simon – The Cool, Cool River Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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"Rhythm of the Saints" is to Latin America what Graceland was to Africa (rhythms, instrumentation, themes) -- that inspiration is in the lyrics too. I kept hearing this song in my head while traveling through South America -- the anger of the peasants who have been suppressed, the raised fist of Solidarity, and the hurt of the mothers of the disappeared with a hurt so deep not even music can console it. The imagery of hope ("not in my lifetime, but in yours") and the latent hate ("Yes boss") is everywhere in the oppressed hinterlands of South America where the discontent with corrupt governments and greedy multi-national corporations has lead to a revolutionary fervor simmering beneath the surface ("quiet like a sleeping army"). Really remarkable lyrics. |
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