Recently, as I was enjoying a coffee at my favourite cafe in Fremantle, I heard a great song called ‘The Love Me or Die’ by CW Stoneking.

On giving the song the Shazam treatment, I discovered that it was from Stoneking’s ‘Jungle Blues’ album which also contained the following fantastic song:

Here are the lyrics:

His name would always be, always be recorded in history
His name would always be, always be recorded in history
It gives me inspiration to sing, his heroic stand in the Philippines
No man can be braver than General MacArthur, the Son of America

With his traditional warriors at his side, he gave the Japanese the first surprise,
For when they called on him to surrender, “I am an American” was his answer,
“And in the name of democracy, I will die for freedom and liberty”,
They don’t come no braver than General MacArthur, the Son of America

Let us go back in past history, go think George Washington and General Lee,
Hmm even hailin’ Patrick Henry, Abe Lincholn – emancipator in slavery
But we’ll read of MacArthur when he’s gone, for he’s a genius if one was ever born
They don’t come no braver than General MacArthur, the Son of America.

When you hear me singing my characteristic song, from the book of editions that last so long,
This vocabulary that is list in me, it is owing to my high-class propensity,
I am not versed in psychology, I’m a man who can sing intelligently,
I say they come no braver than General MacArthur, the Son of America

With the stars and stripes laying at his side, for this flag he intend to die,
MacArthur, the man with the heart of steel, to the invading Japs he wouldn’t never yield,
He told the Japanese for a fact, “I’m leaving Corregidor, but I’m coming back”
They don’t come no braver than General MacArthur, the Son of America.

Like most music these days, the song is a cover:

Anyway, as it happens to be, Jungle Blues won an ARIA award for best blues and roots album in 2009. Given how Australia has progressed since then, would you like to give me the odds of it winning the same award today with the above song in there?

And there lies the problem: how many people out there truly recognise how much we owe to the Americans and the likes of General MacArthur? How many would know what he did, let alone that he existed?

Worse still, how many people out there would be ‘triggered’ by the above song – given the ‘privileged’ person now culturally appropriating singing it?

Think I’m exaggerating? Then have a quick scan of the comments at the above link of the original song:

It’s so sad to see people hurt by Colonialism sing the songs of “liberty” of their geopolitical masters… But that’s ideology for ya.

Aside from the fact that this dipstick is insulting the intelligence of the original artist, I simply ask the following: if not the English and the Americans, then who?

I’m yet to receive an acceptable answer to that question. While I would accept ‘Australia under a TMR Prime Ministership’, we have to be realistic.