up in Canada we have something of a bird-eye view of American politiks. i did read somewhere that this, like many Hip songs, takes a jab at making a political/historical statement, this time about US foreign policy in the post-9/11 world.
"something to kill and eat" - invade, stabilize, govern to utilize resources, and eventually take it over.
"is it because someone talked and she told me" goes with "what's troubling Gus overhearing conversations" - paranoia and conspiracy theories.
"that it's because you're too either them or me/
when it's either them or it's us" - the great unnamed "them" that must be feared, fought and conquered. plus, being only for oneself, having a country that thinks that they're under attack so they have to go out and save themselves before the darkside comes along.
"is that what's troubling ya Gus the mere mention of the name/used to be enough to make every bird stop singing?/is that what's troubling ya Gus? no one is afraid enough?" - we used to be so powerful, and we're not going to lose it to anyone. let's get out there and reassert our might, show the world who's boss.
"The mere attention of the name/used to be enough to make every bird stop singing" - we used to be able to quiet those rogue nations just by threatening to get the USA involved, but that's nearly forgotten now since "the whip-poor-will at dusk tells you no one is afraid".
up in Canada we have something of a bird-eye view of American politiks. i did read somewhere that this, like many Hip songs, takes a jab at making a political/historical statement, this time about US foreign policy in the post-9/11 world. "something to kill and eat" - invade, stabilize, govern to utilize resources, and eventually take it over. "is it because someone talked and she told me" goes with "what's troubling Gus overhearing conversations" - paranoia and conspiracy theories. "that it's because you're too either them or me/ when it's either them or it's us" - the great unnamed "them" that must be feared, fought and conquered. plus, being only for oneself, having a country that thinks that they're under attack so they have to go out and save themselves before the darkside comes along. "is that what's troubling ya Gus the mere mention of the name/used to be enough to make every bird stop singing?/is that what's troubling ya Gus? no one is afraid enough?" - we used to be so powerful, and we're not going to lose it to anyone. let's get out there and reassert our might, show the world who's boss. "The mere attention of the name/used to be enough to make every bird stop singing" - we used to be able to quiet those rogue nations just by threatening to get the USA involved, but that's nearly forgotten now since "the whip-poor-will at dusk tells you no one is afraid".
great music, so Hip. got my mom hooked...