I think this song is much more tongue-in-cheek than a lot of people seem to think. I see it much more as an elaborate lie told by maybe a nanny or a grandmother or something to get a young child to appreciate the food they're given better. I think the more graphic the more effective it would be in this case, and this song is graphic to the point that it's over-the-top. It's obviously being told to a child (who else would be so upset about their mother telling them to eat collard greens). It's more than likely false due to the fact that she only does it when everyone's sleeping and she's told not to tell anyone she knows what she does (stipulations which would silence questions about why she hadn't mentioned any of this before). I personally love the song.
I agree, the lyrics and rhythmic timing seem to me to be invested with an aura of fantasy; I can't say that there's any certainty this is a lie told by a nanny ... but look at the title "A Cautionary Song" ... as there are also "Cautionary Tales".
I agree, the lyrics and rhythmic timing seem to me to be invested with an aura of fantasy; I can't say that there's any certainty this is a lie told by a nanny ... but look at the title "A Cautionary Song" ... as there are also "Cautionary Tales".
But maybe the genius of the song is neither in what someone above called the courage to speak plainly about rape and prostitution, nor in the brilliant fabrication to scare / guilt a child into compliance.
But maybe the genius of the song is neither in what someone above called the courage to speak plainly about rape and prostitution, nor in the brilliant fabrication to scare / guilt a child into compliance.
We all, at some point, do (and feel compelled to do) things we'd rather not. Whether it's an alarm clock at 330am or getting dressed up for an event we'd rather miss ... we prostitute ourselves, sooner or later, in bigger or smaller ways. And we tend to think quite highly of ourselves, a bit of holy aura over our 'victimization' and of the suffering we accept "for the greater good."
Perhaps the comedy of this song is buried a little deeper -- a gently mockery, a reminder we should not take our own suffering too seriously or pat ourselves on the back too generously ...
I found the song brilliant, one of the thirty or so best I've heard this decade.
I agree. Except for the line about collard greens, this really sounds to me like one big, elaborate yo-mamma joke. I love it, but it definitely sounds like more of a joke song than some of their other stuff. The rhyme scheme definitely lends itself to the joking air, I think. Despite the language and the connotation of it all, it's got sort of a Dr. Seuss feel in how it rhymes, in sort of a weird way.
I agree. Except for the line about collard greens, this really sounds to me like one big, elaborate yo-mamma joke. I love it, but it definitely sounds like more of a joke song than some of their other stuff. The rhyme scheme definitely lends itself to the joking air, I think. Despite the language and the connotation of it all, it's got sort of a Dr. Seuss feel in how it rhymes, in sort of a weird way.
I think this song is much more tongue-in-cheek than a lot of people seem to think. I see it much more as an elaborate lie told by maybe a nanny or a grandmother or something to get a young child to appreciate the food they're given better. I think the more graphic the more effective it would be in this case, and this song is graphic to the point that it's over-the-top. It's obviously being told to a child (who else would be so upset about their mother telling them to eat collard greens). It's more than likely false due to the fact that she only does it when everyone's sleeping and she's told not to tell anyone she knows what she does (stipulations which would silence questions about why she hadn't mentioned any of this before). I personally love the song.
I agree, the lyrics and rhythmic timing seem to me to be invested with an aura of fantasy; I can't say that there's any certainty this is a lie told by a nanny ... but look at the title "A Cautionary Song" ... as there are also "Cautionary Tales".
I agree, the lyrics and rhythmic timing seem to me to be invested with an aura of fantasy; I can't say that there's any certainty this is a lie told by a nanny ... but look at the title "A Cautionary Song" ... as there are also "Cautionary Tales".
But maybe the genius of the song is neither in what someone above called the courage to speak plainly about rape and prostitution, nor in the brilliant fabrication to scare / guilt a child into compliance.
But maybe the genius of the song is neither in what someone above called the courage to speak plainly about rape and prostitution, nor in the brilliant fabrication to scare / guilt a child into compliance.
We all, at some point, do (and feel compelled to do) things we'd rather not. Whether it's an alarm clock at 330am or getting dressed up for an event we'd rather miss ... we prostitute ourselves, sooner or later, in bigger or smaller ways. And we tend to think quite highly of ourselves, a bit of holy aura over our 'victimization' and of the suffering we accept "for the greater good."
Perhaps the comedy of this song is buried a little deeper -- a gently mockery, a reminder we should not take our own suffering too seriously or pat ourselves on the back too generously ...
I found the song brilliant, one of the thirty or so best I've heard this decade.
I agree. Except for the line about collard greens, this really sounds to me like one big, elaborate yo-mamma joke. I love it, but it definitely sounds like more of a joke song than some of their other stuff. The rhyme scheme definitely lends itself to the joking air, I think. Despite the language and the connotation of it all, it's got sort of a Dr. Seuss feel in how it rhymes, in sort of a weird way.
I agree. Except for the line about collard greens, this really sounds to me like one big, elaborate yo-mamma joke. I love it, but it definitely sounds like more of a joke song than some of their other stuff. The rhyme scheme definitely lends itself to the joking air, I think. Despite the language and the connotation of it all, it's got sort of a Dr. Seuss feel in how it rhymes, in sort of a weird way.
@n00t I think your right because it is especially evident when he says "and this is how you're fed..." Talk about a guilt trip
@n00t I think your right because it is especially evident when he says "and this is how you're fed..." Talk about a guilt trip