On NPR’s Morning Edition this morning I heard a little item mentioned in passing that made me gasp (unfortunately I can’t find a link to the story on their website).

The American women’s water polo team had a big win, and to celebrate, someone was playing the song “American Woman” over the PA system.

Are you kidding me? American Woman? In case you’re not familiar with the song, it was by the Canadian band The Guess Who, and it’s basically about resenting and resisting the encroachment of American culture. For instance:

I don’t need your war machine
I don’t need your ghetto scene
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now woman get away from me
American woman mama let me be

That says “Go USA water polo!” to me, all right…. It’s right up there with that Lee Jeans commercial a few years ago using Creedence Clearwater’s “Fortunate Son” for music (lyrics here). I think the point probably was Fogerty singing the words “red white and blue,” but nobody seemed to notice that the song was about how it was the sons of the poor and not the elite who were doing the fighting and dying in Vietnam. Oh well. You’re just supposed to buy this stuff, not listen to it.