"They come to seek the open land
They grab a piece before others do"
People from European countries rush to places like Africa, Indonesia, and the Americas, competing to grab land.
"Please, tell us what you want, we'll get it for you"
Seems to lead to the whole "white man's burden" idea - In the conquerors' eyes, they're bringing new ideas and technologies to what they see as inferior societies.
Then there's the whole "paint the rust" idea: taking something that seems dirty and throwing a paint of coat on it.
It's not perfect and there's obviously other stuff there but it's worth thinking about.
As I see it, this song's about imperialism:
"They come to seek the open land They grab a piece before others do"
People from European countries rush to places like Africa, Indonesia, and the Americas, competing to grab land.
"Please, tell us what you want, we'll get it for you"
Seems to lead to the whole "white man's burden" idea - In the conquerors' eyes, they're bringing new ideas and technologies to what they see as inferior societies.
Then there's the whole "paint the rust" idea: taking something that seems dirty and throwing a paint of coat on it.
It's not perfect and there's obviously other stuff there but it's worth thinking about.