Media Source #1: The Great Nations of Europe
Cantador: Randy Newman
Álbum: Bad Love
Fecha: 1999 (Grabada al Festival Jazz Open en 2006)
Duración: 3:47 minutos
Letra:
The Great Nations of Europe
Had gathered on the shore
They'd conquered what was behind them
And now they wanted more
So they looked to the mighty ocean
And took to the western sea
The Great Nations of Europe in the sixteenth century
Hide your wives and daughters
Hide the groceries too
Great nations of Europe coming through
The Grand Canary Islands
First land to which they came
They slaughtered all the canaries
Which gave the land its name
There were natives there called Guanches
Guanches by the score
Bullets, disease, the Portuguese, and they weren't there anymore
Now they're gone, they're gone, they're really gone
You've never seen anyone so gone
They're a picture in a museum
Some lines written in a book
But you won't find a live one
No matter where you look
Columbus sailed for India
Found Salvador instead
He shook hands with some Indians
and soon they all were dead
They got TB and typhoid and athlete's foot
Dyptheria and the flu
Excuse me - Great nations coming through
Hide your wives and daughters
Hide the groceries too
Great nations of Europe coming through
Balboa found the pacific
And on the trail one day
He met some friendly Indians
Whom he was told were gay
So he had them torn apart
by dogs on religious grounds they say
The great nations of Europe were quite holy in their way
Now they're gone, they're gone, they're really gone
You've never seen anyone so gone
Some bones hidden in a canyon
Some paintings in a cave
There's no use trying to save them
There's nothing left to save
Hide your wives and daughters
Hide the groceries too
Great nations of Europe coming through
From where you and I are standing
At the end of the century
Europes have sprung up everywhere, as even I can see
But there on the horizon as a possibility
Some bug from out of Africa might come for you and me
Destroying everything in its path
From sea to shining sea
Like the great nations of Europe
In the sixteenth century
Descripción y Relación a la Fuente Primaria:
Randy Newman compuso “The Great Nations of Europe” en 1999 por su álbum Bad Love. En la canción, Newman describe los efectos negativos del colonialismo, utilizando una escala mayor y un ritmo alegre para crear el tono satírico. Toca el piano solo, cantando de las tragedias que afectaron las indígenas, como la crueldad de los conquistadores o la transmisión de enfermedades. Las estrofas progresan a través del tiempo, así que terminan por hablar sobre el presente. Enfatizan cómo las culturas indígenas ya no existen, diciendo que su legado está limitado a unos líneas en los libros históricos. El estribillo advierte la audiencia a esconder sus esposas e hijas, como un chiste irónico (porque el cantador y su audiencia son principalmente blancos). Últimamente, Newman usa humor negro para criticar las sociedades imperialistas, las que se perciben superiores que el resto del mundo.
La canción critica los efectos presentes del colonialismo por el uso de sátira, en una manera similar al cuadro Santa Rosa de Lima Según Vásquez. Newman nota cómo no podemos reparar el daño del pasado, aunque queremos, porque “there’s nothing left to save.” Como Botero, reconoce que los conquistadores trataban de arrasar las tradiciones indígenas para imponer la cultura europea, eventualmente afectando la gran trayectoria de historia. Es interesante, porque Newman escribió la canción para criticar su propio país, los Estados Unidos, diciendo que “Europes have sprung up everywhere...” En esa manera, está usando la disidencia con colonialismo para informar su audiencia cómo las relaciones entre sociedades “superiores” e “inferiores” todavía oprimen y manipulan los países subdesarrollados.
