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Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Due 12/23...State of Massachusetts by The Dropkick Murphys...analyze and CRANK IT UP!!!

What's the social commentary here, folks?

P.S. This blog and it's owner are not responsible for any spontaneous moshing that may occur during analysis of posted song.


Video.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzF0hHb7xMc



Lyrics....
State of Massachusetts

She had excuses and she chose to use them,

She was the victim of unspeakable abuses,

Her husband was violent, malicious, and distant,

Her kids now belong to the state of Massachusetts



They've been taken away(Hey! )

They've been taken away



Timmy was a bright one

Tommy's off his head

Mother loved them both the same at least that's what she said

I don't predict the future, I don't care about the past

Send them both to DSS now you've had your chance

The boys who stole your babies

The judges took your rights

You can have your children, over tonight!



I suppose you are a victim

I suspect you may have lied

If you've lost all ambition won't you give this thing a try

If you can't and you fail you won't be the only loser

These kids don't stand a chance with you in their future!



They've been taken away

They've been taken away



Timmy was a bright one

Tommy's off his head

Mother loved them both the same at least that's what she said

I don't predict the future, I don't care about the past

Send them both to DSS now you've had your chance

The boys who stole your babies

The judges took your rights

You can have your children, over tonight!



The boys who stole your babies

The judges took your rights

You can have your children, over tonight!



Timmy was a bright one

Tommy's off his head

Mother loved them both the same at least that's what she said

I don't predict the future, I don't care about the past

Send them both to DSS now you've had your chance

The boys who stole your babies

The judges took your rights

You can have your children, over tonight!

20 comments:

Unknown said...

I think it is about a mother who did not take care of her children and so DSS is coming to get them. In the first line it says "She had excuses and she chose to use them" which means even though she was abusive or abused she would deny it. The next lines says "She was the victim of unspeakable abuses
Her husband was violent, malicious and distant". The state took her childrewn because her husband was terrible and it seems the women would not say anything. The kids were probably abused by him too and that is why in the chorus it says "Tommy's off his head" which means Tommy was crazy. "I don't predict the future I don't care about the past Send them both to DSS" talks about how the parents had their chance but they screwed up and it would be best if the kids were just taken away. The next lines it talks about how even though the kids are taken away there is a chance for her to change her life. The kids do not need her in their life and they would probably be much better without her."I suppose you've been a victim I suspect you may have lied If You've lost all ambition
Won't you give this thing a try
If you can't and you fail you won't be the only loser
These kid don't stand a chance with you in their future!"
Now you have had your chance"

katie said...

The tone of this song is very cynical and a little aggressive. The speaker seems to have no sympathy for the mother and seems to feel as though she deserves what she has, which provides further clues in what the mother might have done to her children. I think that this mother was a victim of abuse and neglect and after suffering from it so much, she snapped on her kids by accident. I believe that it wasn't soemthing common for her to do, I think she regrets it. When the songs says "She had excuses and she chose to use them" I think it means that she had an "excuse" to do what she did to her children, and shes saying that because of her relationship with her husband she became unstable. When it says "Mother loved them both or at least thats what she said" I think it further adds to maybe this wasnt an accident, and the mother is suffering from something else. When it says "If you've lost all ambition won't you give this thing a try
If you can't and you fail you won't be the only loser" I thought of rehab. I feel that the mother has a drug addiction and that if she fails at rehab, she won't be the only mother to screw up not only her own life, but her childrens. I think that the mother's excuses in line one refer to her drug abuse, and it is a result of her "violent malicious and distant" husband.
-katie harris

kristen said...

I think the song "State of Massachusetts" by The Dropkick Murphy's is about a woman who gets her kids taken away because of her abusive husband. "She had excuses and she chose to use them,She was the victim of unspeakable abuses,
Her husband was violent, malicious, and distant,Her kids now belong to the state of Massachusetts," what this verse means is that she made up excuses because she most likely wanted to stay with her abusive husband, but unfortunately it led to her getting her kids taken away. The speaker of this song may be from a judges point of view because in the song it says, "I suppose you are a victim I suspect you may have lied If you've lost all ambition won't you give this thing a try If you can't and you fail you won't be the only loser These kids don't stand a chance with you in their future!" That verse can only mean that she is the only one who can get her kids back, and if she really wants them back she is the only person that can try hard to get them back.

Amanda Henriques said...

Henriques

I think this song is about a woman who as a child or young adult went through abuse in the first two lines she says "She had excuses and she chose to use them,
She was the victim of unspeakable abuses, ". The woman was a victim of domestic violence and because she never took control of the situation and got the authorities. And now because she didn't get help she lost her children "Her husband was violent, malicious, and distant,
Her kids now belong to the state of Massachusetts". through out the song the mother reminisces about her kids and how wonderful they were

Kayla G said...

This song is clearly about a mother who has lost her children to the state. The song begins talking about how she was a victim of domestic violence and how she had her excuses. She may have been trying to cover up for her husband. The speaker of the poem believes that the woman lied to authorities and now her word is shot to hell. It says the mother "loved them both equally at least that's what she said". Because she lied about the violence she could be lying about anything. The speaker tries telling her "if you've lost all ambition won't u give this thing a try". He means that if the woman is discouraged and feeling hopeless it is up to her to step up and fight for her kids. If she does not then they will be better off without a mother who will not fight for them. The speaker is in a way challenging the woman to change herself so that she might have a chance in getting her children back.

hsylvester said...

This song is about a mother who lost her children because she wasn't a fit parent and it doesn't sound like the father was either so DSS took the kids. The mom doesn't seem to take responsibility for her actions and always comes up with an excuse since the song says "She had excuses and she chose to use them,
She was the victim of unspeakable abuses,Her husband was violent, malicious, and distant,Her kids now belong to the state of Massachusetts". This basically is saying that she is claiming it's not her fault that it's her husbands fault and she is just the victim, when in reality the children are the true victims. It has a dark powerful tone which is supported by precise diction and imagery. Diction such as "violent, malicious, and distant", "taken away", "stole", and "fail" are all negative words that carry a hard dark tone with them and a sense of dissappointment and disgust. Then there is the imagery such as "the victim of unspeakable abuses" and "The boys who stole your babies" which depict gruesome images of a man beating his wife and possibly his children in unspeakable ways and then the image of guys taking the children away from the unfit parents.

Gavin said...

This song is about a mother who had lost her two sons to DSS a long time ago. However, it seems as though it was not entirely her own fault for her sons being taken away. It could also be attributed to her "violent, malicious, and distant" husband. However, after her children are gone, she realizes that it may be better for them. According to the song, "these kids don't stand a chance with you in their future!"

Ryan Collins said...

Along with what everyone else said, I also believe that this song is about a mother who lost her two children to the Department of Social Services. I think that the father left the mom and two kids because of the line "Her husband was violent, malicious, and distant". It sounds like the husband was abusive toward the mom and kids. So, the father left and now the mom and her two kids live on their own. But, the mother could not take care of her children and the DSS took them away as a result. I think this because of the line "Her kids now belong to the state of Massachusetts". This means that her kids got taken away by the state and now are not in her custody anymore. Then, the line "These kids don't stand a chance with you in their future" is said. This line means that it was a good thing that the kids were taken away from her because she was a poor mother. She probably did not care about her children and therefore their future did not look bright. Now that they are with the state, they might be able to have a better life. This is what I think this song is about.

lindsaykeith said...

I agree that the tone of this song is cynical and mocking. Saying, "mother loved them both the same at least that's what she said," is somewhat mocking, implying that the speaker does not believe the mother did not love them the same, or at least did not show it. The song also repeats "the boys who took your babies," over again. This repeated line is also adds to the cynical tone because the word, "babies," is kind of mocking the mother who's kids were taken away from her. The probably were not infants so saying babies is a way of mocking the mother for not taking better care of her "babies." The song also says, "I suppose you are a victim." By using the word "suppose," is also very cynical because it seems as though the speaker is looking down on the mother, mocking her as if saying, "I guess you are a victim," or "maybe you are a victim." Overall I think the song has a very cynical tone to describe the mother who lost her children, and the tone indicates the speaker's lack of pity on the mother who, "chose to use," her excuses.

DavidLamJr. said...

I believe that the song concerns a mother that did not support and care for her children. She "had execuses and she chose to use them". The mother faked or lied about her current situation and the situation of the children she was supposed to care for the day they were born. Then the song mentions how the DSS are coming to take away the kids because the mother is not fit to care for children. Interestingly enough the song mentions the father who was abusive and it seems both the mother and children were opressed by the father. So it seems both parents failed to take care of their kids and so both of them were taken by the State of Massachussetts.

Derek said...

Obviously this song is about the DSS taking away a woman's children. The tone is very dark, explicitly saying that although it may not be this person's fault, "I suppose you are a victim", the kids are better off without her in their future. Despite this, it is implied that she was also not a good mother, with the speaker saying "Mother loved them both the same at least that's what she said". The connotation of many of the words adds to the dark tone. These include victim, violent, malicious, and off his head.

Unknown said...

Chambers
This song is about a mother who is losing her kids to DSS because she is choosing to defend her husband instead of trying to protect her kids. At the beginning of the song it says “she had excuses and chose them”. The mother took the blame for what her husband had done to her kids. It says that he “was violent, malicious, and distant”. The husband had been beating them. The repetition in the chorus shows that it is a devastating thing for the mother to lose her kids. But then in the second verse it says that the speaker assumes that the mother is lying for her husband. The speaker goes onto say that “these kids don’t stand a chance with [her] in their futures” unless she stops lying and actually tries to do something about it.

Gino said...

It's about a mother who could not properly take care of her children and now the state has them. There was probably abused by her husband and turned to some sort of substance abuse. Also, the parents have both ruined the children even though at least one of them had potential. Finally, I do not believe that the mother truly cared about the kids and she is more worried about herself.

Colleen said...

I think this song is about a woman who was abused by her husband and instead of standing up for herself and her kids she let the husband rule. In the end DSS came and took her kids away because she could not fight for them. I also think she might have not been the nicest mother because it say "Mother loved them both the same at least that's what she said" the at least that what she says makes it seem like she did not treat one of them right and favored one and neglected the other. The reason why I believe it is more of the husband fault the kids were taken away because the first verse says "she had excuses and she chose to use them" this line to me means she is not brave enough to stand up for what was right and really going on. It also says "She was the victim of unspeakable abuses, Her husband was violent, malicious, and distant" this shows it was really her husband who was the bad guy but she gave into him. The tone of this song is aggressive. The speaker does not seem to sympathize at all for the women losing the rights of her children.

CKrim said...

I think that the father is an abusive person and the mom isn't strong enough to stand up for her kids and herself. She probably makes excuses to herself and children for his abusive tendencies as shown in the line,"She had excuses and she chose to use them". Excuses like "O he had a bad day" and " Work has been tough" are common things the mother would say and she convinces herself that it is excusable for his actions when in reality that is not the case. Her children get taken away because of the fathers abuse and the mom allowing it to go on without interfering.

Unknown said...

The tone of this poem is aggressive and violent. Harsh diction is used such as "violent," "malicious," "distant," "fail," and "abuse" to show how the mother is going through a hard time. She was abused by her husband and chose to not defend her children or herself and ended up losing her children to DSS. It is evident that this woman is not fit to be a mother and is not responsible because the song says "she had excuses and chose to use them."

Unknown said...

The song starts with "She had excuses and she chose to use them,
She was the victim of unspeakable abuses, " which immediately refers to a girl the song is about. It seems like the song is about a mother of a child who neglected him or her. The tone is aggressive and very forward as it describes what seems to be children being taken away from the mother. She seems to be abusive toward her children and had no other option but to give up her children. It continues to describe a boy, Tommy who was bright and had a planned future but was lied to and neglected by his mother. It seems that the speaker is very caring toward the woman although it seems that the involvement of DSS appeared negative in the views of others. By use of the repetition "boy" "babies" and "both" it may symbolize a beating heart through the entire process. In other words, the singer wants the listeners to know that he will always love her. The song is very successful in portraying the feelings the singer has toward his mother and also brings attention to the neglect of children within the nation.

Gabby said...

The basic understanding of this poem is that a mother's children are being taken away from her by DSS. The tone of the poem is mocking and unsympathetic, as the speaker shows no remorse or emotion for the mother as her children are being taken away from her.
The repetition of "They've been taken away" serves as an ever present reminder that the children are no longer in her custody and seems to follow her everywhere every day. Depressing and dark diction create a dejecting, depressed tone with words such as "victim", "violent", malicious", and "distant". Absent of these words the song would not be as powerful and aggressive. The speaker's unsympathetic tone seems to attack the mother without truly outlining what she did wrong, but rather condemning her anyway.

Vickie Ha said...

The song is the sad and unfortunately, yet oddly common, story of a dysfunctional family. The husband was "violent" so wife, the subject of the song, loses her children to DSS. "These kids don't stand a chance with [her] in their future!"

The distion is incredibly malicious and degrading, because the mother "had her chance" yet lost her kids to DSS anyway even if she "loved them both the same". She is even describes as a failure, but at least not the "only loser" who has her kids taken away.

This song has a pitiful and sad tone.

Alex Pearson said...

This song is about a mother who is in an abusive relationship and loses her children because of it. The tone is very cynical and malicious. Even though the woman is being abused, she would rather lose her children and suffer to be with the man she is obsessively in love with. When she says "I don't predict the future, I don't care about the past" means that she is not sure what will happen in the future, but she does not care what her husband did to her, as long as they were in love <3. It seems her children are not of utmost importance to her as she allows them to be taken away. This song tells the sad tale of an abusive couple that lose everything that should be important to them, which is their children.