New Orleans is beat

There's been some talk about the Tragically Hip song New Orleans is Sinking because of the catastrophe. Some Canadian stations pulled it from their rotations - a fact that was mentioned on CNN - while at least one station in the States has been using clips from the song as lead-in to their flood coverage.

I thought about the song before Katrina hit, but now that the damage has been done, it's another, lesser-known Hip song that strikes me as incredibly powerful - New Orleans is Beat. It just came on my stereo randomly a few minutes ago, and it chilled me. It could have been written after the flood.

Like a nothing love song that suddenly resonates after you've fallen in love (or, more apt in this case, had your heart broken), the song now cuts deeper than I could have ever imagined. It sounds like a requiem.

New Orleans is Beat

Your smile is fading a bit, so I ration it
Don't think about it
Here where the Mississippi quits
Where its still got a bit of Minnesota in it

No one will give you a thing these days
They'd rather kill it or throw it away
You don't 'do' dark American streets so
If New Orleans is beat
Where's that leave you and me?

The river takes takes takes and takes
It doesn't change, and only changes
See it there in a picture with me
There's a caption beneath: "If New Orleans is Beat"
And if New Orleans is beat
Where does that leave you and me?

Your smile is fading a bit, so I ration it
Try not to think about it . . .