"Sixteen Military Wives" as written by and Colin Meloy....
Sixteen military wives
Thirty-two softly focused brightly colored eyes
Staring at the natural tan of thirty-two gently clenching wrinkled little hands
Seventeen company men
Out of which only twelve will make it back again
Sergeant sends a letter to five
Military wives whose tears drip down from ten little eyes
Cheer them on to their rivals
'Cause America can, and America can't say no
And America does, if America says it's so
It's so
And the anchor person on TV
Goes la di da di da
Fifteen celebrity minds
Leading their fifteen sordid, wretched, checkered lives
Will they find the solution in time
Using their fifteen crispy moderate liberal minds
Eighteen academy chairs
Out of which only seven really even cares
Doling out the garland to five
Celebrity minds, they're humbly taken by surprise
Cheer them on to their rivals
'Cause America can, and America can't say no
And America does, if America says it's so
It's so
And the anchor person on TV
Goes la di da di da
La di da di da
Fourteen cannibal kings
Wondering blindly what the dinner bell will bring
Fifteen celebrity minds
Served on a leafy bed of sixteen military wives
Cheer them on to their rivals
'Cause America can, and America can't say no
And America does, if America says it's so
It's so
And the anchor person on TV
Goes la di da di da
La di da di da
La di da di da
La di da di da
Thirty-two softly focused brightly colored eyes
Staring at the natural tan of thirty-two gently clenching wrinkled little hands
Seventeen company men
Out of which only twelve will make it back again
Sergeant sends a letter to five
Military wives whose tears drip down from ten little eyes
Cheer them on to their rivals
'Cause America can, and America can't say no
And America does, if America says it's so
It's so
And the anchor person on TV
Goes la di da di da
Fifteen celebrity minds
Leading their fifteen sordid, wretched, checkered lives
Will they find the solution in time
Using their fifteen crispy moderate liberal minds
Eighteen academy chairs
Out of which only seven really even cares
Doling out the garland to five
Celebrity minds, they're humbly taken by surprise
Cheer them on to their rivals
'Cause America can, and America can't say no
And America does, if America says it's so
It's so
And the anchor person on TV
Goes la di da di da
La di da di da
Fourteen cannibal kings
Wondering blindly what the dinner bell will bring
Fifteen celebrity minds
Served on a leafy bed of sixteen military wives
Cheer them on to their rivals
'Cause America can, and America can't say no
And America does, if America says it's so
It's so
And the anchor person on TV
Goes la di da di da
La di da di da
La di da di da
La di da di da
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It seems to be anti-liberal as much as it is anti-war.
As for the video, it seems to me that it is a very literal interperation of a certain aspect of the video.
BTW, the phenomenon described by the song are not unique to America.
The tail wags the dog the world over.
This song is not really about the war in Iraq or the academy awards. There could just have easily been verses about Terry Schiavo, the death of the Pope, or having to count four thousand rather small holes in Blackburn, Lancashire.
"wondering blithely what the dinner bell will bring
fifteen celebrity minds served in a leafy bed of sixteen military wives"
When he talks about the actors and their "pristine moderate liberal minds", hes basically make fun of all the celebrities who are just liberal enough to get attention in the media. For example, Paris Hilton, a lead spokesperson for VOTE OR DIE and come time to voting, she wasnt even registered, and she "forgot".
thats a big part of what the song is about.
So its not anti-liberal
But it is definitely anti-war and anti-imperialism
AND I LOVE IT
Although the song can be applied to many events, if you've seen the music video (an excellent video!) it seens to clearly be about the iraq war.
@Louie: You said "I'm proud to live in a country that does what it thinks is best, instead of kneeling to other countries agendas." I suppose that would make everybody else pussies right? Perhaps standing up for what you believe in doesn't involve forcing everybody else to agree.
The song is pretty much about how we (the people of the US) tend to listen to whatever the media says and some of the other countries in the world follow us as well. But in the end they will probably realize how stupod they were to follow. It also seems like they touch on how anyone who doesn't listen to us will be made fun of and alienated.
Fairly topical commentary, really.
The song itself I didn't think was about politics at all but more about the news. Academy awards, soldiers dying in combat, cannibals eating people, and the public watches it with the same reaction: La-di-da-di-da. "I don't care as long as I'm entertained," that's what I got as the message.
I do admit that the chorus kind of suggests it's about American foreign policy but I took it to refer alternatingly to the media then the public:
America (media) can
America (public) can't say no
America (public) does
America (media) says it's so (says to do it)