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Every State Line Lyrics
i got pulled over in west texas
so they could look inside my car
he said are you an american citizen
i said
yes sir
so far
they made sure i wasn't smuggling
someone in from mexico
someone willing to settle for america
'cause there's nowhere else to go
and every state line
there's a new set of laws
and every police man
comes equipped with extended claws
there's a thousand shades of white
and a thousand shades of black
but the same rule always applies
smile pretty, and watch your back
i broke down in louisiana
and i had to thumb a ride
got in the first car that pulled over
you can't be picky in the middle of the night
he said
baby, do you like to fool around
baby, do you like to be touched
i said
maybe some other time
fuck you very much
and every state line
there's a new set of laws
and every police man
comes equipped with extended claws
there's a thousand shades of white
and a thousand shades of black
but the same rule always applies
smile pretty, and watch your back
i'm in the middle of alabama
they stare at me where ever i go
i don't think they like my haircut
i don't think they like my clothes
i can't wait to get back to new york city
where at least when i walk down the street
nobody ever hesitates
to tell me exactly what they think of me
and every state line
there's a new set of laws
and every police man
comes equipped with extended claws
there's a thousand shades of white
and a thousand shades of black
but the same rule always applies
smile pretty, and watch your back
a little town in pennsylvania
there was snow on the ground
a parked in an empty lot
where there was no one else around
but i guess i was taking up too much space
as i was trying to get some sleep
'cause an officer came by anyway
and told me i had to leave
and every state line
there's a new set of laws
and every police man
comes equipped with extended claws
there's a thousand shades of white
and a thousand shades of black
but the same rule always applies
smile pretty, and watch your back
I recently saw Ani in concert and heard this song for the first time. I'm surprised no one else has considered it noteworthy. I thought it was fun, but still along the same line as much of Ani's other songs.
I have to disagree w/ Ani... my partner & I grew up in the south, and both o us have lived in "liberal" (and I use those quotation marks judiciously... I am so liberal that I'd have probably been on "the list" if I had lived in the 50's) places whre everybody "just gets along." And you know, when it comes to prejudice, I prefer the south... in p.c. places, ppl pretend that they aren't prejudiced, because it's "just not right." Maybe they are educated, and middle class (or at least with pretensions and/ or aspirations of same), and they keep in their little enclaves of people who look and talk and think just like they do, and easily spout platitudes of divesity and equality.
Like, it's easy to talk about the problems of the world if those problems are intellectualized, and somewhat distant form your lived reality. And it's easy to be very open and gracious and generous of spirit if you are comfortable in your life.
When I lived in the south, I always knew where I stood. Race relations were real, lived experiences, not theoretical concepts.
Of course, I still prefer to be out of there, because I couldn;t handle being around such overt classism/ racism/ heterosexism/ etc. I actually do prefer to be where people at least make an effort. Or pretend to.
Years ago my dad was driving back from somewhere and was too tired to continue driving, so he pulled over to take a nap. A cop made him leave, and I think gave him a ticket. It's unsafe to drive if you're really tired, but you can't rest for a little either. Insane.