The references to rattlesnakes and coyotes make me think of the American Southwest. The rattlesnake, of course, symbolizes the idealized American spirit (lately, the Tea Party has tried to co-opt this symbol). Benjamin Franklin wrote in a famed letter to the Pennsylvania Gazette (December 1775):
"... I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids. She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance. She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. ...she never wounds 'till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her.
"Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America? ...the rattles...[are] just thirteen, exactly the number of the Colonies united in America; and I recollected too that this was the only part of the Snake which increased in numbers. ... One of those rattles singly, is incapable of producing sound, but the ringing of thirteen together, is sufficient to alarm the boldest man living.
"... In winter, the warmth of a number together will preserve their lives, while singly, they would probably perish. The power of fascination attributed to her, by a generous construction, may be understood to mean, that those who consider the liberty and blessings which America affords, and once come over to her, never afterwards leave her, but spend their lives with her."
It is sad that today's America does not conduct itself with the quiet, unpretentious dignity of the rattlesnake.
(Interestingly, there is another R.E.M. song that also makes reference to a rattlesnake: "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight.")
@picturesofthesun I think the Sidewinder reference is (much to my disappointment) about a type of payphone, not Crotalus cerastes, the little horned rattler. I always hoped one of these American bands would do a song about rattlesnakes that might get people to look at them more positively, because like lots of snakes, they're endangered in a lot their range. People are always killing them for no reason (which is the sort of behaviour that causes most snakebites in developed countries: the snakes are just defending themselves).
@picturesofthesun I think the Sidewinder reference is (much to my disappointment) about a type of payphone, not Crotalus cerastes, the little horned rattler. I always hoped one of these American bands would do a song about rattlesnakes that might get people to look at them more positively, because like lots of snakes, they're endangered in a lot their range. People are always killing them for no reason (which is the sort of behaviour that causes most snakebites in developed countries: the snakes are just defending themselves).
The references to rattlesnakes and coyotes make me think of the American Southwest. The rattlesnake, of course, symbolizes the idealized American spirit (lately, the Tea Party has tried to co-opt this symbol). Benjamin Franklin wrote in a famed letter to the Pennsylvania Gazette (December 1775):
"... I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids. She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance. She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. ...she never wounds 'till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her.
"Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America? ...the rattles...[are] just thirteen, exactly the number of the Colonies united in America; and I recollected too that this was the only part of the Snake which increased in numbers. ... One of those rattles singly, is incapable of producing sound, but the ringing of thirteen together, is sufficient to alarm the boldest man living.
"... In winter, the warmth of a number together will preserve their lives, while singly, they would probably perish. The power of fascination attributed to her, by a generous construction, may be understood to mean, that those who consider the liberty and blessings which America affords, and once come over to her, never afterwards leave her, but spend their lives with her."
It is sad that today's America does not conduct itself with the quiet, unpretentious dignity of the rattlesnake.
(Interestingly, there is another R.E.M. song that also makes reference to a rattlesnake: "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight.")
@picturesofthesun I think the Sidewinder reference is (much to my disappointment) about a type of payphone, not Crotalus cerastes, the little horned rattler. I always hoped one of these American bands would do a song about rattlesnakes that might get people to look at them more positively, because like lots of snakes, they're endangered in a lot their range. People are always killing them for no reason (which is the sort of behaviour that causes most snakebites in developed countries: the snakes are just defending themselves).
@picturesofthesun I think the Sidewinder reference is (much to my disappointment) about a type of payphone, not Crotalus cerastes, the little horned rattler. I always hoped one of these American bands would do a song about rattlesnakes that might get people to look at them more positively, because like lots of snakes, they're endangered in a lot their range. People are always killing them for no reason (which is the sort of behaviour that causes most snakebites in developed countries: the snakes are just defending themselves).
@picturesofthesun ever notice that it's spelt
@picturesofthesun ever notice that it's spelt
beLIEve
beLIEve