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Now kid I know I haven't been a perfect man
And I've avoided doing things I know I can
But if I've learned one thing to tattoo on my arm
Or burn into my thumb it would be that
You must stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Oh Max Schmeling was a formidable foe
The Ambling Alp was too at least that's what I'm told
But if you learn one thing you've learned it well
In June you must give fascists hell
They'll run but they can't hide
You must stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
And when those thunder clouds are cryin'
(In the skies, in the skies)
And when those fireflies keep shining,
(In your eyes, in your eyes)
Keep your mind on the time,
With your ass on the line,
Keep your fleet feet sliding
(Side, to the side)
Now the world can be an unfair place at times
But your lows will have their compliment of highs
And if anyone should cheat you
Take advantage of or beat you raise your head
And wear your wounds with pride
You must stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
And I've avoided doing things I know I can
But if I've learned one thing to tattoo on my arm
Or burn into my thumb it would be that
You must stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Oh Max Schmeling was a formidable foe
The Ambling Alp was too at least that's what I'm told
But if you learn one thing you've learned it well
In June you must give fascists hell
They'll run but they can't hide
You must stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
And when those thunder clouds are cryin'
(In the skies, in the skies)
And when those fireflies keep shining,
(In your eyes, in your eyes)
Keep your mind on the time,
With your ass on the line,
Keep your fleet feet sliding
(Side, to the side)
Now the world can be an unfair place at times
But your lows will have their compliment of highs
And if anyone should cheat you
Take advantage of or beat you raise your head
And wear your wounds with pride
You must stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Stick up for yourself son
Never mind what anybody else done
Lyrics submitted by stickupfoyoselfson
Track duration: 03:57
"Ambling Alp" as written by Christopher E Keating, Anand Mathew Wilder, Ira Wolf Tuton
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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First off, these lyrics are not quite right. The line:
Until you must get past yourself
should be:
In June you must give fascists Hell
Of course the major metaphor here is Joe Louis going up against Max Schmeling and the Ambling Alp. It is true that both times Louis fought Schmelling were in the month of June, and so was Louis's fight against the Ambling Alp.
However, no one has mentioned what I think is a clear political and symbolic dimension to this metaphor. From absoluteastronomy.com/topics/…:
Louis' defeat of Carnera, who symbolized Benito Mussolini's regime in the popular eye, was seen as a victory for the international community, particularly among African Americans, who were sympathetic to Ethiopia during its occupation by Italy.
Similarly, Louis's rivalry with Schmeling had additional dimensions. Schmeling's victory over Louis in their first match was hailed by Nazi propagandists as evidence of the superiority of the Arayan race over blacks and other races. When Louis came back and defeated Schmeling in their second match, it was a crushing blow to the Nazi machine.
Joe Louis joined the US Army and was assigned to the Special Services Division, where he took part in boxing matches to elevate "espirit des corps". He also participated in a campaign calling African-Americans to enlist in the US armed forces despite racial segregation. Quote, "Lots of things wrong with America, but Hitler ain't going to fix them." Despite being a black man in a time of prolific racism, Louis was a major figure of inspiration for Americans and an esteemed ambassador to the world. Louis became immensely popular when he told the media, "We'll win, because we're on God's side."
So with this context laid out, let's go another layer deep, like in Inception. I think the metaphor of Louis fighting Schmeling and Carnera (the Ambling Alp) can be extrapolated to a secondary metaphor of the United States fighting Germany and Italy in World War II. In this light, the Ambling Alp represents Mussolini/Italy and Schmeling represents Hitler/Germany (with Louis of course standing in for the US). Also in this light, "In June you must give fascists Hell" could be an allusion to D-Day, 6 June 1944. Further proof is in the fact that Schmeling and Carnera weren't necessarily facists themselves. The Ambling Alp eventually moved to LA and pursued the American dream, opening a restaurant and liquor store. Schmeling, while he may have let himself be exploited by the Nazi regime, did risk his life to save two Jewish children.
Finally, I see a lot of parallels between these lyrics and themes in "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller, which is an excellent and important book that you should all read. It is also about combating injustice from within a world where injustice is the norm. It's even possible that Ampling Alp was in part inspired by "Catch-22" ("(fireflies) in your eyes, anyone?), but I'm probably reading too far in.
In any case this is a fantastic song with several levels of poetic depth. Thank you, Yeasayer. And thank you KEXP for introducing me to this and other great music (best radio station in the world people, check it out, kexp.org).
Stick up for yourself, son. Yossarian lives!
"If i've learnt one thing to tattoo on my arm or burn into my thumb
it would be that..."
it makes more sense as well.
i adore yeasayer
Oh Max Schmelling was a formidable foe
The Ambling Alp was too, at least that's what I'm told
But if you learned one thing, you've learned it well
In June you must give fascists hell
They'll run, but they can't hide
Now kid, I know I haven't been a perfect man
And I've avoided doing things I know I can
It could be interpreted two different ways. He could be saying he's avoided doing things he know he can avoid OR be saying he's avoided things he knows he is able to do.
Does anybody else see what I'm saying? Oh well, this is just a reallly realllly good song. I've had it on repeat for a while. Yeasayer is awesome!
vimeo.com/…
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