This song is pretty literal, so its not really much of a mystery to unravel. One of my fave p-gandhi songs, though. I'll do a thought by thought break down.
"Dear Ron MacLean. Dear Coach’s Corner. I’m writing in order for someone to explain to my niece the distinction between these mandatory pre-game group rites of submission and the rallies at Nuremburg."
Pretty obvious he's addressing this letter to Ron McClean the saner of two hosts of "Coach's Corner". He's asking Ron how he should explain the "rites of submission" (<-more on this later) in relation to the Nuremberg Rallies. Which, if you don't know, were the Rallies held in Nuremberg, Germany during the rise of the Nazi Party (~1933).
" Specifically the function the ritual serves in conjunction with what everybody knows is in the end a kid’s game. "
Here he's getting more specific and asking Ron how to explain the traditional events surrounding a cultural event (like hockey night in canada) when "everyone" knows Hockey, is, in the end, a kid's game? He's basically asking why do we have these "shows" which preface a kid's game that serve no other purpose than to "sell" the federal government to its people. He's implying that it's a form of indoctrination, indoctrination at the hands of a buffoon (Don Cherry).
"I’m just appealing to your sense of fair play when I say she’s puzzled by the incessant pressure for her to not defy the collective will, and yellow ribboned lapels,"
This part is a little confusing. It's like he's asking how its fair to indoctrinate children, basically "getting to them" before they have a chance to make up their own minds (sort of like religion). Telling them they must support "the troops" etc.. "yellow ribbon lapels" I couldn't tell you what this refers to, though he's obviously referencing those ribbon's people button to their lapels to show their support of some cause.
"as the soldiers inexplicably rappel down from the arena rafters (which, if not so insane, would be grounds for screaming laughter)."
There have been some excellent explanations of this line already so I won't bother.
" Dear Ron MacLean, I wouldn’t bother with these questions if I didn’t sense some spiritual connection. We may not be the same but it’s not like we’re from different planets:"
He's basically saying look dude, (although I doubt chris Hanna calls people dude for some reason :P) we may not be beholden to the same virtues and values, but in the end, they are both humans who (more or less) grew up in the same cultural climate.
"we both love this game so much we can hardly fucking stand it. Alberta-born and prairie-raised. Seems like there ain’t a sheet of ice north of Fargo I ain’t played. From Penhold to the Gatineau, every fond memory of childhood that I know is somehow connected to the culture of this game."
This is just an explanation of how interconnected hockey has become in Canadian culture. And how this game has affected the many facets of his life, including many of his fond childhood memories.
"I can’t just let it go. But I guess it comes down to what kind of world you want to live in, and if diversity is disagreement, and disagreement is treason,""
he's asking which sort of world you'd rather live in, one of diversity where people of all walks of life express differing opinions or one where children are indoctrinated from birth on what to think and believe? A world where to dissent is akin to treason.
"well don’t be surprised if we find ourselves reaping a strange and bitter fruit that sad old man beside you keeps feeding to young minds as virtue."
Basically saying Don Cherry is spreading the "bitter fruit" of his bigoted opinions to children, and people in general, I guess.
" It takes a village to raise a child but just a flag to raze the children"
In other words, it takes a multitude of people to raise a child, parents, siblings, extended family, teachers, jobs, etc, but it only takes one person waving an ignorant statement around to spread said ignorance.
" until they’re nothing more than ballast for fulfilling a madman’s dream of a paradise where complexity is reduced to black and white. How do I protect her from this cult of death?
until they are nothing more than the balancing structure for an ignorant man's idea of what the "perfect world" constitutes. Where he reduces the complex ideas of identity, culture, ethnicity, sexuality, etc.. into the simplest terms of black and white, which for obvious reasons, is not a good thing at all.
AT least this is what I took from it. Some may disagree. :]
@slumpywpg Yellow ribbons are to show support for the army. They're the ones that are often accompanied with that lovely slogan "If you don't stand behind our troops, go ahead and stand in front of them," on pins & bumperstickers.
@slumpywpg Yellow ribbons are to show support for the army. They're the ones that are often accompanied with that lovely slogan "If you don't stand behind our troops, go ahead and stand in front of them," on pins & bumperstickers.
This song is pretty literal, so its not really much of a mystery to unravel. One of my fave p-gandhi songs, though. I'll do a thought by thought break down.
"Dear Ron MacLean. Dear Coach’s Corner. I’m writing in order for someone to explain to my niece the distinction between these mandatory pre-game group rites of submission and the rallies at Nuremburg."
Pretty obvious he's addressing this letter to Ron McClean the saner of two hosts of "Coach's Corner". He's asking Ron how he should explain the "rites of submission" (<-more on this later) in relation to the Nuremberg Rallies. Which, if you don't know, were the Rallies held in Nuremberg, Germany during the rise of the Nazi Party (~1933).
" Specifically the function the ritual serves in conjunction with what everybody knows is in the end a kid’s game. "
Here he's getting more specific and asking Ron how to explain the traditional events surrounding a cultural event (like hockey night in canada) when "everyone" knows Hockey, is, in the end, a kid's game? He's basically asking why do we have these "shows" which preface a kid's game that serve no other purpose than to "sell" the federal government to its people. He's implying that it's a form of indoctrination, indoctrination at the hands of a buffoon (Don Cherry).
"I’m just appealing to your sense of fair play when I say she’s puzzled by the incessant pressure for her to not defy the collective will, and yellow ribboned lapels,"
This part is a little confusing. It's like he's asking how its fair to indoctrinate children, basically "getting to them" before they have a chance to make up their own minds (sort of like religion). Telling them they must support "the troops" etc.. "yellow ribbon lapels" I couldn't tell you what this refers to, though he's obviously referencing those ribbon's people button to their lapels to show their support of some cause.
"as the soldiers inexplicably rappel down from the arena rafters (which, if not so insane, would be grounds for screaming laughter)."
There have been some excellent explanations of this line already so I won't bother.
" Dear Ron MacLean, I wouldn’t bother with these questions if I didn’t sense some spiritual connection. We may not be the same but it’s not like we’re from different planets:"
He's basically saying look dude, (although I doubt chris Hanna calls people dude for some reason :P) we may not be beholden to the same virtues and values, but in the end, they are both humans who (more or less) grew up in the same cultural climate.
"we both love this game so much we can hardly fucking stand it. Alberta-born and prairie-raised. Seems like there ain’t a sheet of ice north of Fargo I ain’t played. From Penhold to the Gatineau, every fond memory of childhood that I know is somehow connected to the culture of this game."
This is just an explanation of how interconnected hockey has become in Canadian culture. And how this game has affected the many facets of his life, including many of his fond childhood memories.
"I can’t just let it go. But I guess it comes down to what kind of world you want to live in, and if diversity is disagreement, and disagreement is treason,""
he's asking which sort of world you'd rather live in, one of diversity where people of all walks of life express differing opinions or one where children are indoctrinated from birth on what to think and believe? A world where to dissent is akin to treason.
"well don’t be surprised if we find ourselves reaping a strange and bitter fruit that sad old man beside you keeps feeding to young minds as virtue."
Basically saying Don Cherry is spreading the "bitter fruit" of his bigoted opinions to children, and people in general, I guess.
" It takes a village to raise a child but just a flag to raze the children"
In other words, it takes a multitude of people to raise a child, parents, siblings, extended family, teachers, jobs, etc, but it only takes one person waving an ignorant statement around to spread said ignorance.
" until they’re nothing more than ballast for fulfilling a madman’s dream of a paradise where complexity is reduced to black and white. How do I protect her from this cult of death?
until they are nothing more than the balancing structure for an ignorant man's idea of what the "perfect world" constitutes. Where he reduces the complex ideas of identity, culture, ethnicity, sexuality, etc.. into the simplest terms of black and white, which for obvious reasons, is not a good thing at all.
AT least this is what I took from it. Some may disagree. :]
@slumpywpg Yellow ribbons are to show support for the army. They're the ones that are often accompanied with that lovely slogan "If you don't stand behind our troops, go ahead and stand in front of them," on pins & bumperstickers.
@slumpywpg Yellow ribbons are to show support for the army. They're the ones that are often accompanied with that lovely slogan "If you don't stand behind our troops, go ahead and stand in front of them," on pins & bumperstickers.