Isn’t it amazing how you can hear one word, and it suddenly brings back a memory?

I recently heard someone say, “indigo,” and I immediately thought of the Indigo Girls and their catchy song “Shame on You.”

Lyrics:

My friends they wash the windows
And they shine in the sun
They tell me wake up early in the morning sometime
See what a beautiful job we’ve done
I say let’s put on some tunes
Sing along and Doolittle all day
Go down to the riverside take off our shoes
And wash these sins away

And the river said
La la la it said shame on you
And the river said
La la la it said shame on you

I go down to Chicano city park
‘Cause it makes me feel so fine
And when the weeds go down you can see up close
In the dead of the winter time
But when the summer comes everything’s in bloom
And you wouldn’t know it’s there
And the white folks like to pretend it’s not
But their music’s in the air

And you can hear ’em singing
La la la they said shame on you
You can feel ’em dancing
La la la they said shame on you

My friend Tanner she says you know
Me and Jesus we’re of the same heart
The only thing that keeps us distant
Is that I keep fuckin’ up
I said come on down to Chicano city park
And wash your blues away
The beautiful ladies walk right by
You know I never know what to say

And they’ll be singing
Ooo la la la la la la la la shame on you
And they’ll be dancing
Ooo la la la they said shame on you
Shame on you

Let’s go roadblock trippin’ in the middle of the night
Up in Gainesville town
There’ll be blue lights flashin’ down the long dirt road
When they ask me to step out
They say, “We’ve been looking for illegal immigrants
Can we check your car?”
I say, “You know it’s funny
I think we were on the same boat back in 1694″

And I said
Ooo la la la la la la la la shame on you
They’ll be dancing
La la la I said shame on you
I said
Ooo la la la la la la la la la la shame on you
Shame on you la la
La la la la la shame on you
I said
I said
La la la shame on you
I’ll be dancing
And they’ll be singing
La la la I said shame on you
Shame on you

This song was released in 1997, and I remember singing along to it (well…at least the words I knew 😉) whenever it came on the radio.

I remember giving my aunt the Indigo Girls’ album that year for Christmas because she really liked their music! 🩵

I never knew what the song was about when I would hear it as a kid, and I had never seen the music video prior to writing this week’s post.

It was interesting to finally read the lyrics to the song I would try to sing along to and see the official music video. 😊

It was especially fun to listen to a song that I don’t think I had heard since I was a kid! 😃

I found an interview by Soundfacts.com where Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls talks about the story behind the song.

I started that song just out of hanging out with this friend of mine named Kate Harris. She’s my best friend, and we always have a lot of misadventures together. But it ended up being about immigration issues.

We were at my house in North Georgia and I was moving from this little cabin to another house I was living in, and I didn’t want to do it. I just didn’t want to work that day. And she was like, “You need to work. You’ve got to get this done.” It was that message of, Shame on you for wanting to just have fun all day.

And then it turned into this thing. We went into town that day, and it was this little neighborhood where you’re hidden away from everything. It’s a Hispanic neighborhood, and it was a summer day and there was music playing and it was very provocative. I was like a little kid: I was wanting to discover what was going on in this neighborhood that no one knows about. And then it made me think about immigration, because I live in an area where there’s definitely been a lot of roadblocks and sting operations to pick up undocumented workers. I think Georgia’s got a terrible perspective on immigration, so it became about that, rather than what it originally started out as. That’s where it grew into a vocal song.

I love learning stories behind songs!

When you think about Amy’s interview and listen closely to the lyrics, how does it change your experience of the song?

Now it makes sense that I didn’t quite “get” the song when I was a kid. 😉

It’s wonderful that people can use music to spread a message. 💜

May your day be filled with joy! 💚

Wishing you well! 💛