Chapel Hill

i guess this song is about the political polarity of north carolina. some of sonic youth's first shows(and i think their first shows out of new york city) were in north carolina. "cradle" is the famous chapel hill venue, cat's cradle.

i'm still not sure why they say that the scene is dead, especially with how sonic youth always seems to make it a point to play two nc shows when they tour.

Jesse H. is the longtime NC senator Jesse Helms.

Also, I live in the Triangle (It's the area that contains Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh, all 3 big college towns less than 30 miles apart from each other) and I don't really get this song. Though the scene here in Raleigh is pretty lame.

no one comments sonic youth lyrics ? ¬¬

this is a good lyrics , but i can get it yet =)

"Cradle" = Cat's Cradle, famous venue in Chapel Hill "Jesse H." - longtime NC senator Jesse Helms "Durham H.C." - Durham is another town that's right near Chapel Hill, so is Raleigh "Char Grill" - I think that's a restaraunt..???

Definitely about the political polarity of NC and its conservative nature.

i read this was about a rascist killing of a black bookstore owner.

The owner of Internationalist Books in Chapel Hill, Bob Sheldon, was considered by many the cornerstone Chapel Hill's progressive and radical scene. In 1991, someone walked into his bookstore and shot him; the murder remains unsolved. Many suspect that it was executed by the CIA. He was not African-American.

Although Chapel Hill does have a productive scene, many argue that it is dead by comparison to it's late 80s incarnation. The Cat's Cradle its self has moved since this song's release.

best song by them and youth against facism

So I grew up in Chapel Hill, and didn't really understand the meaning until years later.

Yes, the original Intl. Bookstore was right around the corner from the original Cat's Cradle location... Both more near downtown, Chapel Hill on West Franklin. (Cradle now in Carrboro).

The day this bookstore owner was shot, Sonic Youth was playing their show - right around the corner from there at the cradle.

Having grown up here, I didn't think of this area being a "good ole' boys" type political scene. Then again, I grew up in Chapel Hill., a more liberal town, than many areas of the state.

However, as I've grown up some, I've seen a lot more corruption on many levels, and it's vast throughout different avenues of money, politics, business, and government... yes even local government.

I guess it's not too different than some of the mafia scene in bigger cities in the north. It's just got a more southern twang to it all !

However, I've not found a place across this beautiful country without corruption, so I guess you gotta take the good with the bad in life ! ;)

Better lyrics (from sonicyouth.com:

Back in the days when the battles raged And we thought it was nothing A bookstore man meets the CIA And we know Throw me a cord and plug it in Get the Cradle rockin' Out with the redneck pig old men And it's gold

Hair in the hole in my head Too bad the scene is dead Memory's in the shadow Back in time again

I can't forget your terrorized face When you cried for the shameless Wasted life, AmeriK-K-Kan Then you smiled Said why should we run when we can not hide? And my flag is burnin' We could be wrong but that's alright We'll rise again

Hair in the hole in my head Too bad the scene is dead Memory's in the shadow It's back in town again

Lookin' away it's another day And of course we love you But radical man meets the CIA And we said no We'll round up the Durham H.C. kids And the Char Grill killers Jesse H. coming to our pit All ages show

Hair in the hole in my head Too bad the scene is dead Memory's in the shadow It's back in time again

Also (I know some of this has already been stated but pulled straight from sonicyouth:

Written about the town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. There are a few references to the scene there, including frequent sonic venue Cat's Cradle.

One of the first songs written for Dirty, premiered on the August '91 Euro-tour (when The Year Punk Broke was filmed).

Apparently spurred by the unsolved February 1991 murder of North Carolina bookseller Bob Sheldon.