A while back, Jamais noted "Manhattan in January" (MP3), a cheeky song about global warming by Jill Sobule, written in response to Al Gore’s now-famed presentation on the subject. Jamais asked, "Is this the first pop song about global warming?" Ever since then it’s been nagging me, and I finally remembered why.
I give you "Sleeping In," by the Postal Service — in particular I draw your attention to the second verse:
Last week I had the strangest dream
That everything was exactly how it seemed
Where there was never any mystery
Of who shot John F. Kennedy
It was just a man with something to prove
Slightly bored and severely confused
He steadied his rifle with his target in the center
And became famous on that day in NovemberDon’t wake me, I plan on sleeping in . . .
Again last night I had that strange dream
Where everything was exactly how it seemed
No concerns about the world getting warmer
People thought that they were just being rewarded
For treating others as they’d like to be treated
For obeying stop signs and curing diseases
For mailing letters with the address of the sender
Now we can swim any day in NovemberDon’t wake me, I plan on sleeping in . . .
It’s not exactly a think-tank white paper, I’ll give you that, but it certainly sounds like an unmistakable, if somewhat oblique, reference.
Any other songs you know of address the subject?
