Anyone is welcome to submit a Guest Blog Entry to torontomike.com. I received the following entry earlier today.
Hi Mike and readers alike.
With all this talk of radio stations pulling one specific Tragically Hip song from their rotations, I thought I would share my 2 cents on the Hip's superb "If New Orleans Is Beat".
This song always stood out with a big "?" when I tried to figure out what the guys were talking about. Although it may not pertain to the exact situation of the catastrophe...it does say some interesting things. I'm sure you all know the tune, here is a sample:
Your smile is fading a bit so I ration it
don't think about it
here where the Mississippi quits
where its still got a bit of Minnesota in it
The river takes takes takes and takes
it doesn't change and only changes
see it there in a picture with me
there's a caption beneath,
"New Orleans is beat"
and if New Orleans is beat
if New Orleans is beat
if New Orleans is beat...
Do they mean if New Orleans is conquered, or exhausted? (or is that the same?) I'm thinking exhausted... You can only "take" so much then you're done. Downie says everything from Minnesota down is carried to New Orleans; New Orleans is strong, stronger than the rest of us. So if New Orleans is beat...Where does that leave you and me.
The song suddenly does seem extremely relevant. Here is another verse to crunch... Somebody else please share their thoughts.
No one will give you a thing these days
they'd rather kill it or throw it away
you don't 'do' dark American streets so
if New Orleans is beat...
Thanks, Peace be with us all.
Carter
If you Google "New Orleans is Beat", guess who's number one. Your guest blog has me playing The Hip tune from In Between Evolution right now and it does seem to have a completely different meaning in this context. I'm also reminded of how pretty it is. I've only heard it live once, a couple of Canada Days ago and they played it immediately before "New Orleans is Sinking".
I always thought "New Orleans is Beat" was subtlety referring to their classic beloved "New Orleans is Sinking", but hearing it today it seems to paint a picture of a city that can beat anything but is geographically at the mercy of the bordering Lake Pontchartrain and Mississippi River. They're a tough people, and if they're beat...
