"a sorta fairytale" and the Treatment of Native Americans in America
Back in Los Angeles, California, Scarlet meets a man with whom she believes she has found a soul mate. This is where a sorta fairytale takes place. A song that seems to have many themes running through it, fairytale gives some real insight into what Scarlet sees in America.
Namely, there is one verse in which Scarlet abandons thinking about the relationship that she is having with this man and begins to think about the metaphorical affair she is having with America. What does she see in America? Where does she fit in in this land of the free?
In this verse, she says:
Down New Mexico way / something about the open road / I knew that he was looking for some Indian Blood / and find a little in you / find a little in me / we may be on this road but we're just Impostors / in this country, you know (Amos)
In its short history, America has repressed many races, ethnicities, sexualities, and a great number of people in between. Only some of these topics are taught in schools in America today. This leaves all the other issues in the dark, only to be worried about by those who have been left behind because of them.
One great misunderstanding among many people in America, even today, concerns Christopher Columbus. In 1492, Christopher Columbus stumbled upon a country known today as United States of America. To this day, children across the country celebrate his birthday as a commemoration of the fact that he discovered America. There is only one problem, however. America had been discovered and inhabited for quite a number of years prior to Christopher Columbuss journeys across the oceans.
The original inhabitants of this land, and consequently the original Americans, were Native Americans. Misunderstood and looked down upon, the white people that immigrated to the Americas displaced the Native peoples. Men, women, and children were abused, raped, and forced out of their homes by the whites who settled the land and called it their own.
In fairytale, Scarlets harsh words are heard in a delicate way. The songs lyrics point out that she thinks we are just imposters in this country (Amos) and we go along and we said we'd fake it (Amos). We are all pretending we are something we are not. If we were to trace our genealogical body map, as Amos would like to call it, we would find that most of us are decedents of the Native Americans. If someone is out hunting for some Indian blood, they will find a little in you, a little in me (Amos). His or her search stops with him or herself.
Further into that verse, she says, These guys think they must try and just get over on us (Amos). They have abused their children, raped their wives, and killed their brothers; now they want the Native Americans land. So, they take and take, always wanting more. It never mattered how many lives they took, nor how much they abused the land. They felt they had the right to take and not stop taking. So, with their badges, their guns, and their power, they took over every last bit of land the Native people had ever walked upon.
Though the words can be harsh at times, the music is far from it. Light drums and minimal guitar and bass are the background to the lush piano arrangements. Like much of Amos earlier work, the piano is at the centerpiece of this song, and the vocals as well. Amos sings both the main and background vocals on the track, and at times, they explode into a chorus of voices; most notably, the two riding alongside (Amos) bridges.
Namely, there is one verse in which Scarlet abandons thinking about the relationship that she is having with this man and begins to think about the metaphorical affair she is having with America. What does she see in America? Where does she fit in in this land of the free?
In this verse, she says:
Down New Mexico way / something about the open road / I knew that he was looking for some Indian Blood / and find a little in you / find a little in me / we may be on this road but we're just Impostors / in this country, you know (Amos)
In its short history, America has repressed many races, ethnicities, sexualities, and a great number of people in between. Only some of these topics are taught in schools in America today. This leaves all the other issues in the dark, only to be worried about by those who have been left behind because of them.
One great misunderstanding among many people in America, even today, concerns Christopher Columbus. In 1492, Christopher Columbus stumbled upon a country known today as United States of America. To this day, children across the country celebrate his birthday as a commemoration of the fact that he discovered America. There is only one problem, however. America had been discovered and inhabited for quite a number of years prior to Christopher Columbuss journeys across the oceans.
The original inhabitants of this land, and consequently the original Americans, were Native Americans. Misunderstood and looked down upon, the white people that immigrated to the Americas displaced the Native peoples. Men, women, and children were abused, raped, and forced out of their homes by the whites who settled the land and called it their own.
In fairytale, Scarlets harsh words are heard in a delicate way. The songs lyrics point out that she thinks we are just imposters in this country (Amos) and we go along and we said we'd fake it (Amos). We are all pretending we are something we are not. If we were to trace our genealogical body map, as Amos would like to call it, we would find that most of us are decedents of the Native Americans. If someone is out hunting for some Indian blood, they will find a little in you, a little in me (Amos). His or her search stops with him or herself.
Further into that verse, she says, These guys think they must try and just get over on us (Amos). They have abused their children, raped their wives, and killed their brothers; now they want the Native Americans land. So, they take and take, always wanting more. It never mattered how many lives they took, nor how much they abused the land. They felt they had the right to take and not stop taking. So, with their badges, their guns, and their power, they took over every last bit of land the Native people had ever walked upon.
Though the words can be harsh at times, the music is far from it. Light drums and minimal guitar and bass are the background to the lush piano arrangements. Like much of Amos earlier work, the piano is at the centerpiece of this song, and the vocals as well. Amos sings both the main and background vocals on the track, and at times, they explode into a chorus of voices; most notably, the two riding alongside (Amos) bridges.
