Tim McMullen's "Give Us A Hand, Grenada"

[raymondcrooke]

Great song. I know all about the problem with irony. I had to remove my cover of Eric Bogle's anti-racist song "I Hate Wogs" because so many people thought I was a racist! That's apart from a few of my own songs where several people totally missed the point!

[TimMcMullen]

Thanks again, Raymond. I have been a teacher for nearly forty years, and teaching irony is very difficult, yet so many of the great authors use it both in fiction and in essays. My song, "The Governed's Mental Getcha'" is probably my best example of using an alternative persona in an ironic way. It tackles racists, sexists, war mongers, free marketeers, and religious hypocrites in one song. Fortunately, the audience on my video clearly appreciated the satire. We can only hope for such audiences.

[raymondcrooke]

Yes, that song is in my favourites list. In fact I was the first to leave a comment. Looking through the comments since then I see that you haven't attracted too many people who misunderstood your intent.

I used to teach a course in "Humour and Satire" and the concept of irony was definitely the hardest part to get across.

[TimMcMullen]

You are right about your getting there first and about the generally positive comments. I hadn't really gone back and looked at them for a while. Thanks for reminding me. "Humor and Satire" sounds like a class that I'd love to teach. I do a section on these concepts in my creative writing classes, and one of their four autobiographical pieces and one of their short stories is to be humorous or satirical, preferably both. It is not an easy genre to master....

Thanks again for all your Tubing.

Tim

[Nomadd1957]

so true

[waynemichael4]

Some people really need to educate themselves more.

[bensmith3200]

You're a master of irony, man. Great singing, great playing.

[bjnboy]

My family is from Grenada and I live in Barbados. My father grew up very closely with Maurice Bishop (my father's parents had their wedding at the Bishop's house) and knows a lot of first hand information about him.

I'm so glad that America saved my family's home from the Communists. There are two reasons Grenada is unwilling to give a hand.

They don't want to be seen as kow-towing like a dog to America (a white nation).

They voted people who supported Bishop into power again.

[Harpan32]

Great.

[unclebanana]

*applause*

[bulbheadmyass]

Absolutely wonderful song, Tim, lyrics are just too good. We do know how to give a hand, don't we...

[TimMcMullen]

Thanks, Jan. As always, I greatly appreciate your compliments on these old songs. They are seeing the light of day after 20 years. This little ditty actually won ten or twenty bucks in a contest at CSU Fullerton in '84 or '85 and was published, along with my poem, "Kids and War Don't Mix" in their annual Poetry Collection.

[bulbheadmyass]

Thanks, Tim. You know, after all we did for Grenada, you'd think they could give us a hand in Iraq. :o)

[ze4420]

Grenada don't owe you a damn thing. Iraq is not a ****** war. it is an invasion

[TimMcMullen]

Irony is a dangerous weapon—a lot of folks just don't get it...

[waynemichael4]

What message r u tryna bring forth with this song?

[waynemichael4]

"Help in Iraq?" R u for real? Listen, I have 5 friends in Iraq right now. Grenada has quite a few sons n daughters in Iraq n Afghanistan, F U N know.

[bulbheadmyass]

So maybe that clears Grenada, waynemichael4, but what about VietNam? We helped them with their civil war and now they are not helping us at all with Iraq, after all we did for them. :o)

[raymondcrooke]

It's great to hear topical songs like this on YouTube. Very well done.

[TimMcMullen]

Raymond—

Thanks for the comment and the rating. I agree: YouTube has become an outlet for political/topical songs that would otherwise have little or no audience. That is, in part, the impetus for including these songs written, for the most part about Reagan, but which apply even more directly to Bush. Thanks, too, for your work in the topical and folk vein. Keep up the good work!

Tim