I can't think of a song whose lyrics drive my imagination, politically, more so than this one. The first thing is that it pushes you to consider the continuities between the experiences of most disenfranchised groups coming to the States (or, to be fair, Canada), not just Irish Americans.
And it's fucking bitter - "we came looking for a better life, we were promised tolerance, an equal shake and potential prosperity, and instead met with the cold reality of immigration loteries, continuing obscurity and poverty. But dammit, we still have our culture!!" I'm sorry, but what's wonderful about this song is that it isn't yet another unthinking, let's forget our history, balls-on-the-table "I'm Irish and proud!" statement.
It's been the same thing in Canada since Trudeau introduced multiculturalism in the 1970s: you can bring your pretty dresses, exotic food, and here whisky, but leave the politics at "home"! Multiculturalism is this - giving lip service to "tolerating" difference, but at the end of the day, leaving power squarely with white middle class Canadians - the only problem being that, at a moment of crisis, that "tolerance" can be withdrawn in favour of bigotry and violence in the blink of an eye.
...how it's been overcome??
I can't think of a song whose lyrics drive my imagination, politically, more so than this one. The first thing is that it pushes you to consider the continuities between the experiences of most disenfranchised groups coming to the States (or, to be fair, Canada), not just Irish Americans.
And it's fucking bitter - "we came looking for a better life, we were promised tolerance, an equal shake and potential prosperity, and instead met with the cold reality of immigration loteries, continuing obscurity and poverty. But dammit, we still have our culture!!" I'm sorry, but what's wonderful about this song is that it isn't yet another unthinking, let's forget our history, balls-on-the-table "I'm Irish and proud!" statement.
It's been the same thing in Canada since Trudeau introduced multiculturalism in the 1970s: you can bring your pretty dresses, exotic food, and here whisky, but leave the politics at "home"! Multiculturalism is this - giving lip service to "tolerating" difference, but at the end of the day, leaving power squarely with white middle class Canadians - the only problem being that, at a moment of crisis, that "tolerance" can be withdrawn in favour of bigotry and violence in the blink of an eye.
@muzzlehatch bang on.
@muzzlehatch bang on.