Hang your collar up inside
Hang your dollar on me
Listen to the water still
Listen to the causeway
You are mad and educated
Primitive and wild
Welcome to the occupation

Here we stand and here we fight
All your fallen heroes
Held and dyed and skinned alive
Listen to the Congress fire
Offering the educated
Primitive and loyal
Welcome to the occupation

Hang your collar up inside
Hang your freedom higher
Listen to the buyer still
Listen to the Congress
Where we propagate confusion
Primitive and wild
Fire on the hemisphere below

Sugar cane and coffee cup
Copper, steel and cattle
An annotated history
The forest for the fire
Where we open up the floodgates
Freedom reigns supreme
Fire on the hemisphere below
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me


Lyrics submitted by xpankfrisst

Welcome to the Occupation Lyrics as written by Peter Buck Bill Berry

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Welcome To The Occupation song meanings
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  • +2
    General Comment

    I always heard this was about El Salvador--supposedly Stipe is on record saying so. -"hang your collar up inside"=possibly refers to the clerical collars worn by priests. The Liberation Theology movement within the Catholic Church claimed that the Church should support the Sandinistas and other resistance fighters in Central America (The Vatican officially disavowed this). -"primitive and wild"=the official insult of colonialism. Stipe is linking the current exploitation to the atrocities perpetrated by Cortes and the conquistadores. -"held and dyed and skinned alive"=the death squads' weapons of choice were machetes. -"Fire on the hemisphere below"=always reminded me of Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS in which the navy fires cannon shells into the forest for no particular reason.

    dontkillwhiteyon May 09, 2007   Link

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