The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Goodbye, America" by the artist "W.A.S.P."
The song "Goodbye, America" by W.A.S.P. is a scathing critique of American imperialism, hypocrisy, and lust for power. The lyrical hero of the song is a personified image of America itself, cynically and arrogantly recounting its "achievements."
The text is full of bitter irony. The hero prides itself on being politically incorrect, confesses love for the country, but immediately speaks of fear of its own government, hinting at totalitarian tendencies. The phrase "You believe what you read" criticizes propaganda and manipulation of public opinion, and the mention of "winners writing history" points to the distortion of facts to please the powerful.
Further, the song exposes America's cruelty and greed. Images of "mass self-destruction," "selling hatred and bloodshed," and "genocide of other nations" paint a picture of a state built on violence and exploitation.
The phrase "I am the queen of all dreams" is replaced by the image of a "crumbling country," showing the illusory nature of the American dream and the collapse of ideals. The mention of the enslavement of blacks and the extermination of Indians, as well as the distortion of the religious motto "In God We Trust," emphasizes the hypocrisy and cruelty at the heart of America's "greatness."
At the end of the song, the image of the "broken Humpty Dumpty" symbolizes the irreversibility of decay, the shattering of illusions, and the loss of former power. The farewell to America sounds like a bitter sentence, a statement of the death of freedom and the triumph of cynicism.
The original lyrics of the song - "Goodbye, America"
I'm politically incorrect and damn proud of it
I love my country but I'm scared to death of its government
Ya believe what you read cause it's all that they give ya
Cause all of history is written by winners
I'm engaged in a frenzy of mass self-destruction
I feed upon your famine to fuel my corruption
I'm wholeselling hatred and international incest
To carnivorous hyenas in a global theft fest
I've mastered the arts of death and foreign nations genocide