Dust Bowl Dance

The name-Dust Bowl Dance-is a direct reference to the Dust Bowl of the Great Depression. The song might not be a complete connection to The Grapes of Wrath, but there is a clear connection. During the Great Depression, the land in the Great Plains, from around the area of Oklahoma all the way to the west in California, was suffering a major drought, and the land became basically infertile. Many of the farmers in that area were tenant farmers, meaning they rented the land from the banks of the era, but the banks still owned the land, and when the land stopped producing, ("There was no one in the town and no one in the field, This dusty barren land had given all it could yield") the tenant farmers were evicted by the banks ("I've been kicked off my land at the age of sixteen And I have no idea where else my heart could have been", "Your oppression reeks of your greed and disgrace", "When you took it all from the weak hands of the poor?"). Many of these farmers put up a fight against the banks, and some even threatened the men with guns ("To face what I've done and do my time", "Well yes sir, yes sir, yes it was me, I know what I've done, cause I know what I've seen, I went out back and I got my gun I said, "'You haven't met me, I am the only son'"). An entire chapter of The Grapes of Wrath is dedicated to the eviction of these tenant farmers. The main character, Tom Joad, returns to his home from jail to find his family has been evicted and they are on their way to the western coast, where there are rumors of thousands of open jobs. By the end of the novel, Joad becomes a leader in the uprising against the banks.

A ballad telling the story of a young man, son of a tenant farmer, in the Dust Bowl region. The father is gone because he died or abandoned the family so the bank is foreclosing on the farm. Rather than giving up, getting up and leaving as others have ("so collect your courage and collect your horse, and pray you never feel the same kind of remorse") the son instead decided to fight back. He gets his gun and when whomever is to take over the property comes to kick the family off (or he goes and hunts them down himself) there is a fight, symbolized in song by the sudden violent instrumental, and the boy hurts or kills him. Now he's in court pleading guilty.

This song puts me in mind of The Grapes Of Wrath

Literally, the song seems to be the struggle of one living during the Great Depression. The young man is one whose family lived on the farm for generations before the Great Depression started. After the stock market crash and the formation of the Dust Bowl, the towns people and soon the young man are all forced to leave whether it be to seek better farming conditions or the banks have foreclosed on the properties due to debt. It seems likely that the man was evicted by the bank and then sets out for revenge, possibly robbing banks and the other activities similar to real life criminals of the time like Al Capone, John Dillinger, and Bonnie and Clyde. In the end he is caught but is not remorseful for his actions since he feels that they were righteous since he was fighting a corrupt and greedy entity. The line "You haven't met me, I am the only son" could be a reference to the fact that he was the last of his family, or to that of Christ in which case it would be him comparing himself to Christ due to the strong since of moral duty he carried out his crimes with.

I don't think it necessarily matters exactly which event this song refers to. It has such a deeper overall meaning of justice being served in the face of utter disparity. It has elements of story telling from the beginning of time: Good vs. Evil, Revenge, Pride, etc. To squabble about exactly which event in history this is-well, it's just ridiculous. There are more than hundreds of events that have similar circumstances. But alas, I could listen to this song until my ears bled-and even then I think I'd continue to listen to it despite the bloody mess.

I always thought this song was about an amish boy. "I've been kicked off my land at the age of sixteen" At age 16, the amish are considered adults. They leave the community for rumspringa, a period of time where they are allowed to venture away from the community and test out the mainstream American teenage lifestyle.

"Seal my heart and brake my pride I've nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide" If the children engage in immoral activities they are not welcomed back into the community

"Well you are my accuser, now look in my face Your opression reeks of your greed and disgrace" I think here, the boy is talking to his oppressive father. A lot of scandals have been surfacing about physical and sexual abuse in Amish communities.

'Align my heart, my body, my mind To face what I've done and do my time' Here it seems that the boy is feeling remorse and realizing that he will be punished for the murder he is about to commit because of the values the community instilled in him.

"There will come a time I will look in your eye You will pray to the God that you always denied The I'll go out back and I'll get my gun I'll say, "You haven't met me, I am the only son" I think, like some others said, that he is calling his father a sinner and a hypocrite here by saying "the God that you always denied". He is comparing himself to Jesus by calling himself the only son, and carrying out the work that he thinks Jesus would do(the murder).

When I first came out as gay, this song for me was almost my coming out song, the part that says 'Seal my heart and break my pride,I've nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide,Align my heart, my body, my mind,To face what I've done and do my time'.That part for me meant everybody was stealing the little bit of pride I had, and that I would endure the consequence and do my time after coming out. Not that coming out turned out to be so awquard. Does that make sense to anybody?

It kinda reminds me of Robin Hood when it says "When you took it all from the weak hands of the poor"

It's possible that this could be inspired by a book or a true event, but to me, it's simply an epic ballad that has one purpose: to tell a story.

It's a story of one man taking a stand against tyranny and oppression.

"Well you are my accuser, now look in my face Your oppression reeks of your greed and disgrace So one man has and another has not How can you love what it is you have got When you took it all from the weak hands of the poor? Liars and thieves you know not what is in store"

Having made his accusations, he threatens to go out and get his gun. In my opinion, the final words of the song indicate that he carried out what he saw as justice against the person or group that he accused.

"Well yes sir, yes sir, yes it was me I know what I've done, cause I know what I've seen I went out back and I got my gun I said, 'You haven't met me, I am the only son'"

He'd threatened to take action against them, and he didn't back down when the time came. "I know what I've done, cause I know what I've seen." He had seen the corruption and the injustice, and chose to deal out the righteous judgment that no one else was willing to give, and he's ready to take the consequences for it.

I LOVE this song. Marcus gives me goosebumps every time. The drum solo in this song is beautifully epic, too.