Hootie and the Blowfish: Drowning Meaning

Song Released: 1995

Drowning Lyrics

The trouble with the world is we're too busy to think about it all like,
Why is there a rebel flag hanging from the state house walls?
Tired of hearing this shit about "Heritage; not hate".
Time to make the world a better place.
Why must we...

1. anonymous

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   Jun 22nd 2011 !⃝

   PE is Public Enemy, the political hip hop act of the 80's and 90's that were often the subject of protests because of their controversial political views. Being that they spoke out against racism, and that this song is about racism, particularly in the South, this has to be it.
2. Ravi

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   Oct 7th 2009 !⃝

   I don't know who P.E. is (and I'd like to know) but I have to correct Weevle about "Heritage Not Hate." It doesn't mean that white Southerners' hate Black people because it's their heritage, it is a well-known bumper sticker defending the choice to display the Confederate flag because it is part of their heritage. Darius is objecting to the display of the Southern Cross, insisting that it is ultimately motivated by white supremacism.
3. Weevle

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   Nov 15th 2005 !⃝

   It's a song about racism and the hatred that results from it. The Nanci here is Nanci Griffith. She wrote "It's a Hard Life Wherever you Go". It's about hatred and people that teach their kids to hate. I think P.E. stands for 'Political Economy'. That's the only P.E. I found that exists that makes sense. Otherwise, I'd say it meant 'Political Equality'. But anyway, Darius Rucker is singing about how he doesn't understand why people hate each other when they all have to live together and there's nothing they can do about it. "Heritage; not hate" I'd say is referring to the past. Blacks were mistreated in the past, thus, there are many whites in the present that are prejudice against African Americans. So, the whites' argument here is that it's 'heritage' and ancestral racism that's causing them to be prejudice, not their own hatred. I think that's what the song is about, but I could be wrong about some, if not all, of it. First song I noticed on the request list, so I gave it a shot.

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