Are You Kidding Me?

A climate disaster song by Holly Near

Hi all,

Thank you for joining me for this week’s song, Are You Kidding Me, by Holly Near, a song written in 2018.

If you’d like to hear the song before you read the background, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.

Comments and questions are welcome. Please be respectful of others’ opinions if they should differ from yours.

For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.

The Song

(494 words)

In 2018, as in many places in the world, the United States experienced climate disasters. Millions of people were affected by these disasters. According to the government’s science and information site, climate.gov:

“During 2018, … in total, the U.S. was impacted by 14 separate billion-dollar disaster events: two tropical cyclones, eight severe storms, two winter storms, drought, and wildfires.” (1)

Floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes, and fires can have serious impacts on millions of lives. During floods, heavy rain or rising rivers can put homes under water, damaging property. Floodwater can contaminate drinking water, causing health risks. Tornadoes, on the other hand, are powerful swirling winds that can destroy buildings and uproot trees, endangering lives.

People may lose their homes, belongings, and even family or friends in these natural disasters. Floods and tornadoes can create fear and stress, affecting people emotionally.

FEMA is a U.S. government agency that helps people after disasters, offering aid and support to affected communities.

This song shows the vexation that someone living through this disaster experiences.

My house is under water

The circuits are all blown

I have no electricity

I cannot charge my phone

I’ve run out of medicine

I have no gas for the car

And then you tell me to apply for help on your website

Apply for help on your website

This woman is in pain and suffering extreme stress. The government agency tells her she has to apply for assistance on their website. How? And when they suggest that she sell her farm, she can’t because everything has been destroyed on the farm. Who would buy it?

Are you kidding me?

Oh, are you kidding me

You’ve got to be kidding me

Or are you just losing your mind?

“You’ve got to be kidding me” is an expression in English that is used to show shock at something that seems absurd. It is impossible to apply on a website if you have no phone, no electricity, and no computer. Life is hard enough just to survive with no clean water, no fresh food, not being able to drive anywhere because there is Destruction all over the street.

The government suggested that people in the affected areas “go stay with a relative until we have it all fixed,” but what should she do if the relatives were also affected?

She asks the government officials who only see things through regulations, forms, and bureaucracy. Have none of you ever lived in the real world?

Do you know how it feels when you reach for my hand and say you understand, Mr. President?

Here, she is referring to President Trump who was president at the time. He was criticized for not doing enough to help the victims of these natural disasters.

With extreme weather across the earth, there will be more disasters like these. We need good leadership to help those in need. We also need immediate alternatives to the root causes that have produced these weather disasters.

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VOCABULARY

was impacted 影響を受けた

billion-dollar 億ドル

drought 旱魃

tornado 竜巻

contaminate 汚染する

uproot 根こそぎ

endanger 危険にさらす

belongings 所有物

vexation 情けない思い

circuit 電気回路

blown 飛んでいる

extreme 極端

apply for assistance 援助を申し込む

absurd  不合理

destruction 壊滅

regulations 規制

bureaucracy 官僚主義

victims 被害者

immediate alternatives 当面の代替案

root causes 根本原因

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Sources

Smith, A. B. (7 Feb 2019). 2018’s billion dollar disasters in context. NOAA Climate.gov. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/2018s-billion-dollar-disasters-context. Accessed 19 July 2023.