Bob Dylan og Donald J. Trump

Ti låter du bør høre før Donald inntar Det hvite hus? TV 2 glemmer den viktigste.

Av Arild Rønsen // 15.01.17

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TV 2 har fortjenstfullt satt opp ei liste over sanger du bør høre i anledning ny president i USA. På lista fins selvfølgelig Bruce Springsteens «Born in the U.S.A.» og Green Days «American Idiot». Men – de glemmer den viktigste.

Hvis vi skal tro de politiske kommentatorene – og det kan vi muligens gjøre denne gang – var det den hvite arbeiderklassen i rustbeltet som stemte fram Trump. Det var industriarbeiderne i vippestatene som velta alt for Hillary Clinton. Mer presist – de tidligere industriarbeiderne i Midtvesten – de som i dag er arbeidsledige, eller som må ha mist to jobber for å forsørge sin familie. Stikkord: Globalisering.

Som Dylan så presist formulerer det:
"They say low wages are a reality
If we want to compete abroad"

Det begynner å bli noen år siden Bob Dylan greip direkte inn i internasjonal politikk. Men i 2006 – ti år før Donald J. Trump stilte til valg – traff han blink med

"Workingman's Blues #2"
There's an evening haze settling over town
Starlight by the edge of the creek
The buying power of the proletariat's gone down
Money's getting shallow and weak
Well, the place I love best is a sweet memory
It's a new path that we trod
They say low wages are a reality
If we want to compete abroad

My cruel weapons have been put on the shelf
Come sit down on my knee
You are dearer to me than myself
As you yourself can see
While I'm listening to the steel rails hum
Got both eyes tight shut
Just sitting here trying to keep the hunger from
Creeping it's way into my gut

Meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind
Bring me my boots and shoes
You can hang back or fight your best on the frontline
Sing a little bit of these workingman's blues

Well, I'm sailing on back, ready for the long haul
Tossed by the winds and the seas
I'll drag them all down to hell and I'll stand them at the wall
I'll sell them to their enemies
I'm trying to feed my soul with thought
Going to sleep off the rest of the day
Sometimes no one wants what we got
Sometimes you can't give it away

Now the place is ringed with countless foes
Some of them may be deaf and dumb
No man, no woman knows
The hour that sorrow will come
In the dark I hear the night birds call
I can feel a lover's breath
I sleep in the kitchen with my feet in the hall
Sleep is like a temporary death

Well, they burned my barn, and they stole my horse
I can't save a dime
I got to be careful, I don't want to be forced
Into a life of continual crime
I can see for myself that the sun is sinking
How I wish you were here to see
Tell me now, am I wrong in thinking
That you have forgotten me?

Now they worry and they hurry and they fuss and they fret
They waste your nights and days
Them I will forget
But you I'll remember always
Old memories of you to me have clung
You've wounded me with your words
Gonna have to straighten out your tongue
It's all true, everything you've heard

In you, my friend, I find no blame
Wanna look in my eyes, please do
No one can ever claim
That I took up arms against you
All across the peaceful sacred fields
They will lay you low
They'll break your horns and slash you with steel
I say it so it must be so

Now I'm down on my luck and I'm black and blue
Gonna give you another chance
I'm all alone and I'm expecting you
To lead me off in a cheerful dance
I got a brand new suit and a brand new wife
I can live on rice and beans
Some people never worked a day in their life
Don't know what work even means.

Det er kanskje unødvendig å fortelle at sangen er lagt inn i repertoaret til mitt stadig mer virksomme band Dylan Bonanza?

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