I'm So Bored with the U.S.A.

"Yankee soldier He wanna shoot some skag He met it in Cambodia But now he can't afford a bag" Skag is slang for herion, the verse references to those Vietnam vets who got addicted to herion during the war but were left penniless by the government

"Yankee dollar talk To the dictators of the world In fact it's giving orders An' they can't afford to miss a word"

• I'm pretty sure this is about the US being the world police and threatening economic sanctions on the countries with dictators who were broke because of communism. this is still going on.

"Yankee detectives Are always on the TV 'Cos killers in America Work seven days a week"

• The 1970s was a bloody decade for America as a crime-wave hit, and a lot of detective shows resulted, making them the new cowboys

"Never mind the stars and stripes Let's print the Watergate Tapes I'll salute the New Wave And I hope nobody escapes"

• Nixon of course, but not sure if the New Wave means crime wave or what. Nixon did give a wave of peace signs as he was led out of the White House onto a helicopter, which contradicts his actions. He was a thief who still wanted peace for his own sake, which kind of applies to all Americans. Whereas "peace" in the 60s meant deep feelings of connections, "peace" after Nixon means "mind your business and hopefully we won't have a confrontation that will drag us both through the mud"

"I'm so bored with the U.S.A. But what can I do?"

• The newspaper headlines and television shows in the 70s were anything but boring, so this may be ironic.