By delaporterichard23_o0uqz186Een van de sterkste singer-songwriters ooit, met een bijzondere specialiteit: hij schrijft – vanuit een sterk fundament in klassieke compositie – fenomenale arrangementen voor orkest, waardoor zijn liedjes altijd perfect uitgevoerd zijn en de muziek altijd naadloos aansluit op het gevoel van de teksten, die net zo volmaakt zijn in hun emotionele uitdrukking, of ze nou treurig zijn of lieflijk, sarcastisch of gewoon absurd.
Ik heb hier twee oude nummers opgediept, inmiddels zo’n 50 jaar oud, waaruit blijkt dat hij een goed inzicht had in de Amerikaanse maatschappij. Wat hij toen in muziek en tekst goot, is nu, meer nog dan toen, bittere realiteit.
REDNECKS
Last night I saw Lester Maddox on the tv show
With some smart-ass New York jew
The jew laughed at Lester Maddox
The audience laughed at Lester Maddox too
well he may be a fool, but he’s our fool
If they think they’re better than him they’re wrong
So I went to the park and I took some paper along
And that’s where I made this song
We talk real funny down here
We drink to much, we laugh too loud
We’re too dumb to make it in no northern town
We’re keeping the niggers down
We got no-neck oil men from Texas
Good ol’ boys from Tennessee
College men from LSU
Went in dumb, come out dumb too
Hustlin’ ‘round Atlanta in their alligator shoes
Getting drunk every weekend at the barbecue
And they’re keeping the niggers down
We’re rednecks, we’re rednecks
We don’t know our ass from a hole in the ground
We’re rednecks, we’re rednecks
We’re keeping the niggers down
Now your northern nigger’s a negro
You see, he’s got his dignity
Down here we’re too ignorant to realize
That the North has set the nigger free
Yes, he’s free to be put in a cage in Harlem, New York City
He’s free to be put in a cage in the south side of Chicago and the west side
And he’s free to be put in a cage in Hough in Cleveland
And he’s free to be put in a cage in East St. Louis
And he’s free to be put in a cage in Fillmore in San Francisco
And he’s free to be put in a cage in Roxbury in Boston
They’re gatherin’ em up for miles around
Keeping the niggers down
We’re rednecks, we’re rednecks
We don’t know our ass from a hole in the ground
We’re rednecks, we’re rednecks
We’re keeping the nigger down
POLITICAL SCIENCE
No one likes us-I don’t know why
We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try
But all around, even our old friends put us down
Let’s drop the big one and see what happens
We give them money-but are they grateful?
No, they’re spiteful and they’re hateful
They don’t respect us-so let’s surprise them
We’ll drop the big one and pulverize them
Asia’s crowded and Europe’s too old
Africa is far too hot
And Canada’s too cold
And South America stole our name
Let’s drop the big one
There’ll be no one left to blame us
We’ll save Australia
Don’t wanna hurt no kangaroo
We’ll build an All American amusement park there
They got surfin’, too
Boom goes London and boom Paree
More room for you and more room for me
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town
Oh, how peaceful it will be
We’ll set everybody free
You’ll wear a Japanese kimono
And there’ll be Italian shoes for me
They all hate us anyhow
So let’s drop the big one now
Let’s drop the big one now