It's always amused me to no end that Bostonians look at this as a paean to their city. I suppose there's a history of places and people adopting songs critical of them — a la "Yankee Doodle" —Â as their own. But, it still strikes me as ridiculously ignorant. This song is written in pure irony. The composer of the song — the Standells' producer Ed Cobb —Â after he was mugged in Boston.
This song is NOT about the Boston Strangler (although the Stones' Midnight Rambler is); he's just one of the many negative references to Boston that's thrown in there. This song is NOT an "anthem of pride" for the city of Boston. Neither Cobb nor any of the Standells was from Boston, nor even had any real connection to the city. That should be the first hint right there that the song is tongue-in-cheek.
The song is irony, folks. It's talking about what a shithole Boston was at the time the song was written. The harbor was polluted, it was rife with crime, it wasn't even safe for college girls to be out past midnight. And, the ultimate jab in the eye at Boston was that the narrator of the song — which is NOT to be confused with the author of the song, as this song is clearly written where the singer is voicing a character — takes misguided pride in all his city's problems.
It reminds me of how republicans and redneck conservatives latched onto Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" when it was released as if it were an anthem of patriotic pride. Don't these people ever listen to the lyrics? "Born in the USA" was a song about the American Dream being completely derailed and what a mess the US was in in the '80s. All of the tobacco-chewing yahoos with "love it or leave it" bumper stickers who blasted this song out of their 4X4 trucks completely missed the point.
Likewise, all the Red Sox and Patriots fans who sing along to this song at games and bars are oblivious to the fact that the meaning of the song is swiftly whooshing over their heads faster than an A10 from Hanscom Air Force Base. In short: the song is talking about how much Boston sucks.
It's always amused me to no end that Bostonians look at this as a paean to their city. I suppose there's a history of places and people adopting songs critical of them — a la "Yankee Doodle" —Â as their own. But, it still strikes me as ridiculously ignorant. This song is written in pure irony. The composer of the song — the Standells' producer Ed Cobb —Â after he was mugged in Boston.
This song is NOT about the Boston Strangler (although the Stones' Midnight Rambler is); he's just one of the many negative references to Boston that's thrown in there. This song is NOT an "anthem of pride" for the city of Boston. Neither Cobb nor any of the Standells was from Boston, nor even had any real connection to the city. That should be the first hint right there that the song is tongue-in-cheek.
The song is irony, folks. It's talking about what a shithole Boston was at the time the song was written. The harbor was polluted, it was rife with crime, it wasn't even safe for college girls to be out past midnight. And, the ultimate jab in the eye at Boston was that the narrator of the song — which is NOT to be confused with the author of the song, as this song is clearly written where the singer is voicing a character — takes misguided pride in all his city's problems.
It reminds me of how republicans and redneck conservatives latched onto Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" when it was released as if it were an anthem of patriotic pride. Don't these people ever listen to the lyrics? "Born in the USA" was a song about the American Dream being completely derailed and what a mess the US was in in the '80s. All of the tobacco-chewing yahoos with "love it or leave it" bumper stickers who blasted this song out of their 4X4 trucks completely missed the point.
Likewise, all the Red Sox and Patriots fans who sing along to this song at games and bars are oblivious to the fact that the meaning of the song is swiftly whooshing over their heads faster than an A10 from Hanscom Air Force Base. In short: the song is talking about how much Boston sucks.
@JimmyCarlBlack YES YES YES
@JimmyCarlBlack YES YES YES
Hey Jimmy, we do get it...and we love it. Kiss them rings jimbo..and stay out of our shit hole city you Dem Trans weirdo.
Hey Jimmy, we do get it...and we love it. Kiss them rings jimbo..and stay out of our shit hole city you Dem Trans weirdo.