Feature
jan 22, 2025
Feature
jan 22, 2025
Av Tomas Grip
Redan 2020 (efter fyra år med Trump) släppte Iris DeMent sin episka singel "Goin' Down To Sing In Texas" där hon tydligt tar ställning mot USA:a vapenlagar, raisism, girighet, polisvåld och deras skenheliga förvanskning av kristendomens budskap. En politisk brandfackla klädd i en fantastisk countrysoul-skrud.
Den uttryckte också sitt stöd för Dixie Chicks (numera bara Chicks).
(Här kommer en utläggning som egentligen är en parentes:)
2003 turnerade bandet i England och från en scen i London proklamerade sångerskan Natalie Maines att: "We don't want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas".
Detta var nio dagar innan Bush Jr och USA invaderade Irak.
Engelsmännen jublade förvisso, men hemma i USA gick det konservativa country-etablissemanget bananer över att någon kunde uttrycka sig så opatriotiskt. Tjejer dessutom.
Deras skivor slutade raskt att spelas på radiostationerna och ramlade lika raskt ut från alla försäljningslistor. Skivor brändes och det anordnades event där Dixie Chicks-prylar kördes över av en 16-tons traktor. Känns det igen från historien?
När de så var dags att skriva låtar till nästa skiva, "Taking the Long Way", var pressen utifrån stor.
De flesta i deras närhet - inklusive skivbolaget - ville att de skulle skriva försonande låtar som kunde gjuta olja på vågorna så att dollarna kunde börja rulla in igen.
Som de stenhårda bruttor de var så kom de istället upp med denna.
Den kom att bli deras största hit, och den talar väl egentligen för sig själv:
I'm not ready to make nice
I'm not ready to back down
I'm still mad as hell, and I don't have time
To go 'round and 'round and 'round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
´Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should
Bland det tuffaste som rockhistorien gett oss om ni frågar mig.
Mer "punk" eller "rock" än så blir det inte.
Både albumet och låten vann visserligen en Grammis, men de bojkottas fortfarande i mångt och mycket av countrypuritanerna.
(Slut på parentes och åter till Iris DeMent.)
"Goin' Down To Sing In" Texas drogs sedermera tillbaka från streamingplattformerna och gavs inte ut igen förrän 2023 när albumet "Working On a World" såg dagens ljus.
Men.
Borta var då två verser (8 och 10 av de ursprungliga 12) av politiskt sprängstoff.
Vers åtta tar ställning för Palestina (om än inte MOT Israel) och kanske ansågs den lite väl kontroversiell för amerikanerna?
Den tionde versen nämner "The thug up in the White House" och nu när han är tillbaka finns det väl anledning att påminna om den igen.
Lyssna på den fantastisk låten, den fantastiska skivan och den tuffaste bruden i rockbranchen: Iris DeMent.
Här är texten i sin helhet.
I'm going down to sing in Texas where anybody can carry a gun
But we will all be so much safer there, the biggest lie under the sun
Go ahead and shoot me if it floats your little boat
But I'll live by my conscience even if that's all she wrote
I'm going down to sing in Texas where anybody can carry a gun
It's been way too long comin' but I want to thank The Chicks
They found out what it's like to be a woman and defy the establishment
Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, any guy in a cowboy hat
Woulda walked away unscathed takin' a stand like that
Well it's been way too long coming but I want to thank The Chicks
I'm so glad Jesus drove those moneychangers out of the church
He did not mince his words for fear that their feelings might get hurt
He spoke truth to power, He stood up for the poor
The church today wouldn't even let him through the door
I'm so glad Jesus drove those moneychangers out of the church
I know a couple of Muslims and they seem like pretty decent folks to me
I'd take anyone of them over that evangelist I'm watchin' on T.V.
You wanna ban something? I got a plan
Let's ban hate from every corner of our land
Well I know a couple of Muslims and they seem like decent folks to me
What's the deal with all these war criminals who get to walk around free
Like that president who lied about WMD
Hundreds of thousands of people are lying in their graves
Celebrities are calling him the sweet new friend they made
Well, what's the deal with all these war criminals out walkin' around free
I just wanna say thank you to those brave women in The Squad
Everyday their lives are jeopardized by that hate monger and his mob
But when you care about something that's bigger than you
Even the fires of hell ain't too much to go walking through
And I just wanna say thank you to those brave women in The Squad
Ain't we all just a little bit tired of greedy people gettin' a free pass
Hoarding obscene amounts of wealth, riding on everybody else's back
Hey Mr. Bezos, I'm talking to you
That flimsy veil you're wearing is so easy to see through
Aren't we all just a little bit tired of greedy people gettin' a free pass
We ought not be condoning, bulldozing Palestinian homes
It's an open-air prison there, A U.S. sanctioned, dead zone
I have a wealth of compassion for Jewish people and their plight
But I've not forgotten two wrongs don't make a right
And we ought not be condoning, bulldozing Palestinian homes
How many more people of color are we gonna let be gunned down by police
How many more perpetrators are we gonna sit back and watch walk free
You took a knee to stand up for your rights
I want you to know that I'm right there by your side
And how many more people of color we are gonna let be gunned down by police
I'm so proud of all these young people for taking it to the streets
You gotta have conviction if you are going to give your conscience feet
That thug up in the White House will turn up his snotty nose
But these kids are smart, they know the emperor got no clothes
I'm so proud of these young people for taking it to the streets
I know I'm just a pilgrim, I'm only passing through
It's a choice I'm making tryin' to be true
I don't know if there's a Judgment Day or a master plan
But I wanna be ready if before the Lord I stand
And I know I'm just a pilgrim, only passing through
I'm going down to sing in Texas where anybody can carry a gun
But we will all be so much safer there, the biggest lie under the sun
Go ahead and shoot me if it floats your little boat
But I'll live by my conscience even if that's all she wrote
I'm going down to sing in Texas where anybody can carry a gun
I'm going down to sing in Arkansas where anybody can carry a gun
I'm going up to sing in Michigan where anybody can carry a gun
My mama told me, "You can run to the rocks and try to hide your face
But those rocks will cry out, 'There ain't no hiding place'"
So I'll go on down and sing in Texas where anybody can carry a gun