I’ve been thinking about this song a lot lately, and GEE, I CAN’T IMAGINE WHY.
Yes, it’s about the dark side of American culture. Conspiracy theories and paranoia and madness. Specifically, when he wrote the song, Tom Cochrane was worried about a new wave of antisemitism that was on the rise in the country. That was in 1981. FORTY-FIVE YEARS AGO.
I still love this song. Listening to it feels like driving across the desert of Southern Arizona on a two-lane highway at 3:00 A.M. (something I’ve done, actually, although this song did not come on the radio).
It’s also an example of how an offbeat, unusual choice can elevate an already fine work of art. In this case, it was the use of a steel guitar—an instrument normally associated with country music—played by master musician Ken Greer that gives the song its eerie, haunting sound.
Rock on…
Ash Clifton, Writer 