There is an element of class warfare in this song. The son doesn't understand why "the ones that have so much make the ones who don't go mad" The disntinctions between class dont make any sense to the son but seem to make all the difference as his father is hauled off to jail. Also the line about blacks and whites choosing up sides is also quite powerful. The interests of the poor blacks and whites were aligned in the South, but divisions were exploited by the upper class in order to maintain control. (See, "The Southern Thing" - "to the fucking rich man all poor poeple look the same") The son sees the absurdity in things around him that turn out to be a matter of life and death...
There is an element of class warfare in this song. The son doesn't understand why "the ones that have so much make the ones who don't go mad" The disntinctions between class dont make any sense to the son but seem to make all the difference as his father is hauled off to jail. Also the line about blacks and whites choosing up sides is also quite powerful. The interests of the poor blacks and whites were aligned in the South, but divisions were exploited by the upper class in order to maintain control. (See, "The Southern Thing" - "to the fucking rich man all poor poeple look the same") The son sees the absurdity in things around him that turn out to be a matter of life and death...