Lyrics
Turn of the century
America’s foreign diplomacy
Turned its gaze south
Where they saw opportunities abound
Spain ruled Cuba
One of our closest of neighbors
For hundreds of years
But a Cuban rebellion Spain feared
This unrest concerned us
We had Cuban investments which earned us
Many millions of dollars
So for war some Americans hollered
Channeling war fever
Were many American newspapers
With biased sensationalism
And the untruths of yellow journalism
South of our borders – possibilities for us
Cuba, Puerto Rico in the Caribbean
And in the Pacific the Philippines and Guam
In 1898
The United States sent the battleship Maine
To the shores of Havana
To protect all interests American
It sunk in an explosion
That was most likely an accident
But the papers claimed the Maine
Was done in by an enemy called Spain
South of our borders – possibilities for us
Cuba, Puerto Rico in the Caribbean
And in the Pacific the Philippines and Guam
“Remember the Maine!”
Newspapers vehemently exclaimed
And Americans demanded blood
So the Spanish American War was begun
South of our borders – possibilities for us
Cuba, Puerto Rico in the Caribbean
And in the Pacific the Philippines and Guam…Remember the Maine!
Vocabulary
Spanish-American War— A war between Spain and the US in 1898.
“many American newspapers”— This line refers to American newspapers such as the New York Journal run by William Randolph Hearst and the New York World run by Joseph Pulitzer who saw the Spanish American War as a way to sell papers. Many newspapers such as these ran articles based on sensationalism.
Sensationalism— Sensationalism is a manner of over-hyping events, being deliberately controversial, loud, or acting to obtain attention.
Yellow journalism— Yellow journalism is a type of journalism that downplays legitimate news in favor of eye-catching headlines that sell more newspapers.
Battleship Maine— The USS Maine was a battleship that was dispatched to Havana harbor in January 1898. On February 15, the Maine exploded, killing 260 men aboard.
Havana— Havana is the capital of Cuba.
“Remember the Maine!”— This was a cry, fueled by yellow journalism, from the American people after the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana, Cuba.
