A column dedicated to great songs, old and new.
August 30, 2005
Written by August Darnell
From You Shoulda Told Me You Were..., Sony Records, 1991
When I was a 2nd grade teacher in the Bayview/Hunter's Point district of San Francisco, I never covered Columbus Day the way it was suggested in our way-outdated Social Studies textbooks. To put it most bluntly, there was no way I was going to teach a class of young Black kids that "real civilization" only begins when European settlers arrive somewhere and impose their cultural traditions ( I doubt my students would have bought that, anyhow). On the other hand, I did feel that knowledge of world explorers was important. What I usually ended up doing was downplaying the word "discovery". I would instead highlight the fact that bustling Native cultures were present on these lands centuries before Columbus and touch on the not-so-rosy consequences of this major world event. My hope was to offer a more balanced view which didn't treat one culture as more important than the other.
You Shoulda Told Me You Were...
Kid Creole and the Coconuts
August Darnell (aka Kid Creole) is also a former school teacher. Though he's superficially known for his colorful suits, Caribbean-dandy stage persona, and funny-story lyrics, I've always felt that Darnell was one of the most subversive voices in pop music, ever. His lyrical content has its share of frivolity, but his best stuff is highly nuanced, meticulously crafted, and thoroughly encoded with critiques about the dominant society. He's like a street-wise Cole Porter, this guy---the wit, the clever turn, the smirk, but with the biting edge of someone who's seen people struggle against various types of oppression. He's been an influence on me for over 20 years.
"Consequently" does a number on your brain in a few ways. First, the musical stew Darnell cooked up for this track is quintessential Kid Creole---all mixed up. The initial vocal hook has roots in his beloved NYC doo-wop, but then morphs into a keyboard figure with a vaguely Asian feel. The relentless (electronic) drums and live percussion ground the song in Africa and Latin America, as well. This sets the stage for the story he wants to tell, which he does through his homegirl, Cory Daye. She starts by singing:
"The year was 1492,
Columbus sails the ocean blue,
And stumbles on an island in the sun
The natives greet them with a song,
The sailors dare not stay too long,
For their concerns are economic ones."
This song was written around the 500-year anniversary of Columbus' 1492 voyage, and clearly Darnell wants to remind people of the other side of the story. The final lines of the last verse, addressing the destruction of the native cultures in the Caribbean, paint a clear picture:
"A tribe that lived 500 years
Is decimated then and there,
Don't be surprised,
It's just formality..."
The real punch in the face, though, is the pessimistic chorus, which describes a domino effect stemming from the darker side of "discovery" and colonization. The chorus, like the verses, is sung with an ironic sweetness by Daye (the Kid can't resist jumping in on these juicy lines himself, though):
"Consequently,
Life goes on...
Consequently,
Life goes wrong...
Consequently,
Man is born to be
A liar,
A sneak,
A slave-driver"
Oh, he adds "thief" and "conniver" to the very last chorus, in case you don't get the point. Though there's a negative/cynical streak in the chorus that I philosophically can't get behind 100%, I have to admit that I admire the hell out of Darnell for reminding folks that slavery and genocide are a crucial part of this story; a part that most folks don't want to hear about.
In the mid-90s I saw Kid Creole and the Coconuts perform at Bimbos here in San Francisco. The pineapple-hat wearing party boys and girls at the show seemed to have no idea of the types of messages August Darnell's lyrics contain, but they were having a great ole time. The Kid didn't seem to care; he was doing his thing on stage, singin' and dancin' and smirkin'. I still don't know whether Darnell actually cares if people understand his words or not--onstage he acts like he doesn't, which I find interesting. I've always admired his pursuit of excellence in both showmanship and lyrical dexterity, and seeming nonchalance about whether or not people "get it".
If I had been teaching high school instead of elementary school when this song came out, I would have used it in class around Columbus Day as a starting point for discussions about varying points-of-view regarding events in history. I've always found it helpful to get all sides of the story.
And to be honest, I just love the fact that on this issue, at least one challenging corrective is offered by a pink-suit wearin' smartass songwriter who calls himself Kid Creole.
pcm
Purchase:
You Shoulda Told Me You Were...
Various prices - check Froogle
For further reading on a more ethnically inclusive history of early America, check out UC Berkeley Professor Ronald Takaki's controversial book, A Different Mirror at Amazon.com