Shame on You

About Shame on You

"Shame on You" is a single from the Indigo Girls album Shaming of the Sun released in 1997. The song's lyrics celebrate Chicano culture ("I go down to Chicano city park/cause it makes me feel so fine") and strongly criticize efforts against illegal immigration as being racist ("The white folks like to pretend it's not/but their music's in the air") and hypocritical ("They say we be 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"). Steve Earle sings backup and plays harmonica on the song. The song was inspired by filmmaker David Zeiger's documentary Displaced in the New South. more »

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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 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

The river said
"La la la"
It said, "Shame on you"
The river said
"La la la"
It said, "Shame on you"

I go down to Chicano city park
Because 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 white folks like to pretend it's not
But their music's in the air

You can hear them singing
"La la la"
They said, "Shame on you"
You can feel them 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
"Ooh la la la la la la la la, shame on you"
And they'll be dancing
Ooh la la la, they said, "Shame on you
Shame on you"

Let's go road block trippin' in the middle of the night
Up in Gainesville town
There'll be blue lights flashing down the long dirt road
When they ask me to step out
They say, "We be 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
"Ooh 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
"Ooh la la la la la la la la, shame on you
Shame on you, 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"

(Road block trippin' in the middle of the night)
(Gainesville town
(Blue lights flashing down the long dirt road)

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Indigo Girls

The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. They started performing with the name Indigo Girls as students at Emory University, performing weekly at The Dugout, a bar in the Emory Village. more »

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