Below is a comment made by one of my readers, Bob on the post ‘Ideology of East Meets West’ that I think it would be great lost if only to be left in ‘comment box’ and I hope that you don’t mind me posting this (Bob) because I think it’s worth a post of its own. One of the greatest things about Blog is that we can share our experiences, ideas and sometimes reading what others have to say helps us to understand our situation a bit better. I think every comment is a contribution to a post because it takes the post to the next level, thank you all for commenting on this post, sometimes I feel like I’m just venting out my frustration…but don’t we all.
From Bob: I just wanted to share this song from one of my favorite artist with y’all. I heard it this morning on my way to school. I know I had taken the article of ‘Ideology of East meets West’ beyond what it meant & broadened it to a general view of things. (Hope I am forgiven by it). I like looking at the ‘big picture.’ Hopefully this song will reinforce what I had commented on this great discussion presented here (so far) by Nye.
Natalie writes the majority of her songs. That’s what I like about her. She was formally with ’10,000 Maniacs’ as their singer then went off to solo career. 10,000 Maniacs has not been the same since she left them. Why I like her music? All aspects of her music simply come together for me, as music should as I come to understand IMO. I love her lyrics most of all, and her voice simply gets the meaning across.
To put it short, this song’s main idea concerns with what we are doing to the environment…a comment brought in by Seiji as the consequence of our greed & continuous yearning for material things. The lyric, blend in with what we see in reality, bring a very haunting image to the mind of what will happen, or is happening. The second part where she speaks about the “five & dime queen” bring to mind Wal-Mart of all things. I think you know what I mean here.
This is Natalie’s take on the song:
“…the song is a desperate plea for innocence, to be ‘faceless, nameless, innocent, blameless and free,’ expresses a craving we all share now for the world we took for granted and lost. Suddenly there seems to be no hiding from our past as a nation or our present, or our future. For me it’s the death of nostalgia and dreams.”
Enjoy.
Bob:)))
“Motherland” by Natalie Merchant
Where in hell can you go
Far from the things that you know
Far from the sprawl of concrete
That keeps crawling its way
About 1,000 miles a day?
Take one last look behind
Commit this to memory and mind
Don’t miss this wasteland, this terrible place
When you leave
Keep your heart off your sleeve
Motherland cradle me
Close my eyes
Lullaby me to sleep
Keep me safe
Lie with me
Stay beside me
Don’t go, don’t you go
O, my five & dime queen
Tell me what have you seen?
The lust and the avarice
The bottomless, the cavernous greed
Is that what you see?
Motherland cradle me
Close my eyes
Lullaby me to sleep
Keep me safe
Lie with me
Stay beside me
Don’t go
It’s your happiness I want most of all
And for that I’d do anything at all, o mercy me!
If you want the best of it or the most of all
If there’s anything I can do at all
Now come on shot gun bride
What makes me envy your life?
Faceless, nameless, innocent, blameless and free,
What’s that like to be?
Motherland cradle me
Close my eyes
Lullaby me to sleep
Keep me safe
Lie with me
Stay beside me
Don’t go, don’t you go
Nye Noona 
Thanks Nye. I am very much honored that you should think so highly of my comment(s). Looking forward to reading more of your blog in the future.
Bob :)))
Thanks for the post Bob and Nye. I’ve always enjoyed the music of 10,000 Maniacs and Natalie Merchant, dating back to their days in Athens, Ga. What must Athens have been like in the early 1980s, with that explosion of youthful, energetic music by such artists as Merchant, R.E.M, Pylon and the B-52s?
The human experience is all about being nostalgic. We feel this way as individuals and as part of humanity. We seem to yearn for simpler times or the innocence of youth. Obviously, nothing lasts forever and we must move on, but isn’t it beneficial for one to take those feelings of nostalgia and use them to shine new light on our complicated lives today?
A novel way to solve problems, from that broken spoke on your bicycle wheel to global warming, is to look at them from the fresh perspective of innocence and naivety.
Bob, you’re most welcome…commenting is a way to share our ideas and hopefully will be beneficial to others as well.
Seiji wrote: Obviously, nothing lasts forever and we must move on, but isn’t it beneficial for one to take those feelings of nostalgia and use them to shine new light on our complicated lives today?
Seiji, I couldn’t agree with you more, sort of saving it for a rainy day, my childhood memories in Laos and Thailand always bring a smile to my face. 🙂
Lovely song. Never expect it to appear at a site like this.