At first blush, it seems like "American Beauty," illustrating suburban ennui by telling a story of the inevitable dissatisfaction that comes from a life spent vigorously keeping up with the Joneses. But there's a major departure between those stories and these: rather than getting so fed up with this modern excuse of the American Dream and doing something drastic, our narrator simply holds steady to it. He's perfectly aware that it's screwed up ("these messed up times,") and that not everyone can deal with it (references to his friend), but for whatever reason he thinks it's beyond his role in society to challenge them ("Ain't bitching bout things that aren't in my grasp").
Unlike the other comments on here, I don't see anything to indicate that Hood is passing any kind of moral judgment on the character, all I see is a great character illustration. Nor do I see any developed class struggle or, God forbid, fascist theocracy (where did that come from?). I think it's a simple character story.
One more thing I failed to notice back in my original post:
One more thing I failed to notice back in my original post:
What do all the lines in the beginning of the song begin with? "I got..." He's talking about what he HAS. It's the American dream--"Look at this stuff I've accumulated. Look at these material possessions and other signs of a successful life I own." Nice little dig there at the American dream.
What do all the lines in the beginning of the song begin with? "I got..." He's talking about what he HAS. It's the American dream--"Look at this stuff I've accumulated. Look at these material possessions and other signs of a successful life I own." Nice little dig there at the American dream.
The other interesting things about "I got..." is the way it disappears by the end of the song. It appears in nearly every line of the first verse, and a few...
The other interesting things about "I got..." is the way it disappears by the end of the song. It appears in nearly every line of the first verse, and a few more times in the second verse, but is totally absent from the last few verses as he becomes much more introspective.
The obvious question arising from this whole song is: If you know this lifestyle is so wrong, why do you refuse to change it? Hood leaves the answer open--as he should.
Interesting little song.
At first blush, it seems like "American Beauty," illustrating suburban ennui by telling a story of the inevitable dissatisfaction that comes from a life spent vigorously keeping up with the Joneses. But there's a major departure between those stories and these: rather than getting so fed up with this modern excuse of the American Dream and doing something drastic, our narrator simply holds steady to it. He's perfectly aware that it's screwed up ("these messed up times,") and that not everyone can deal with it (references to his friend), but for whatever reason he thinks it's beyond his role in society to challenge them ("Ain't bitching bout things that aren't in my grasp").
Unlike the other comments on here, I don't see anything to indicate that Hood is passing any kind of moral judgment on the character, all I see is a great character illustration. Nor do I see any developed class struggle or, God forbid, fascist theocracy (where did that come from?). I think it's a simple character story.
One more thing I failed to notice back in my original post:
One more thing I failed to notice back in my original post:
What do all the lines in the beginning of the song begin with? "I got..." He's talking about what he HAS. It's the American dream--"Look at this stuff I've accumulated. Look at these material possessions and other signs of a successful life I own." Nice little dig there at the American dream.
What do all the lines in the beginning of the song begin with? "I got..." He's talking about what he HAS. It's the American dream--"Look at this stuff I've accumulated. Look at these material possessions and other signs of a successful life I own." Nice little dig there at the American dream.
The other interesting things about "I got..." is the way it disappears by the end of the song. It appears in nearly every line of the first verse, and a few...
The other interesting things about "I got..." is the way it disappears by the end of the song. It appears in nearly every line of the first verse, and a few more times in the second verse, but is totally absent from the last few verses as he becomes much more introspective.
The obvious question arising from this whole song is: If you know this lifestyle is so wrong, why do you refuse to change it? Hood leaves the answer open--as he should.