In 2002, she released The Song They Sang... When Rome Fell. In 2003, she was a winner of the New Folk Competition, at the Kerrville Folk Festival. In 2004, her second album, Hymns for the Exiled, was released (Waterbug Records).
On 8 Dec 2006, Anaïs' 'folk opera' "Hadestown" débuted (written / produced in collaboration with composer Michael Chorney & director Ben T. Matchstick). On 13 Feb 2007, her third album, The Brightness was released (Righteous Babe).
Hadestown, a concept album based on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, was released on March 9, 2010. It features contributions from Justin Vernon as Orpheus, Ani DiFranco as Persephone, Greg Brown as Hades, and Ben Knox Miller as Hermes; Anais herself sings the part of Eurydice.
Her album, 'Young Man in America' was released on Wilderland Records in the UK on February 13, 2012 and in the US on February 28, 2012.
Why We Build The Wall
Anaïs Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why do we build the wall?
Why do we build the wall?
We build the wall to keep us free
That's why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
How does the wall keep us free, my children, my children?
How does the wall keep us free?
The wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That's why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
Who do we call the enemy, my children, my children?
Who do we call the enemy?
Who do we call the enemy?
The enemy is poverty
And the wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That's why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
Because we have and they have not, my children, my children
Because they want what we have got
Because we have and they have not
Because they want what we have got
The enemy is poverty
And the wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That's why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
What do we have that they should want, my children, my children?
What do we have that they should want?
What do we have that they should want?
We have a wall to work upon
We have work and they have none
And our work is never done
My children, my children
And the war is never won
The enemy is poverty
The wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That's why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
We build the wall to keep us free
Anaïs Mitchell's Why We Build The Wall is a political song that explores the ideas of exclusion and division among societies. The song questions the real reason behind the construction of a wall and focuses on the idea of "us vs. them" mentality. The repeated refrain of "Why do we build the wall?" is a confrontation of the idea of creating a physical barrier to maintain freedom. The first verse establishes the need for a wall, which is to keep people free. The second verse questions how a wall keeps one free, which a responder answers by saying that it keeps the enemy (poverty) out. The third verse then explores who the real enemy is, and the answer is poverty. The final verse explores the supposed need to protect what we have, our jobs and our resources, from those who don't have it. Ultimately, the song concludes that there will always be a need to build the wall because the enemy (poverty) will never stop threatening "our" way of life.
The song is highly relevant to contemporary society where discussions on the construction of walls between nations have been a topic of debate. Anaïs Mitchell's song asks the listener to be critical of the political and social motives behind the building of such barriers. Through her clever use of words, Mitchell reminds us that in building walls, we create an "us vs. them" mentality that does not solve the root causes of our problems.
Line by Line Meaning
Why we build the wall, my children, my children?
What is the reason for constructing the wall, my beloved offspring?
Why do we build the wall?
What is the intended purpose of building the wall?
We build the wall to keep us free
The wall is constructed with the primary objective of maintaining our freedom
That's why we build the wall
This is the underlying reason for our decision to construct the wall
How does the wall keep us free, my children, my children?
In what way does the wall safeguard our freedom, my cherished children?
The wall keeps out the enemy
The wall acts as a barrier to prevent the infiltration of adversaries
Who do we call the enemy, my children, my children?
Whom do we consider as our opponents, my treasured offspring?
The enemy is poverty
Poverty is viewed as the opponent in this context
Because we have and they have not, my children, my children
We possess what they lack, my beloved children
Because they want what we have got
They covet that which we possess
What do we have that they should want?
What makes our possessions so desirable to them?
We have a wall to work upon
Our ability to construct and maintain the wall is highly valuable to us
We have work and they have none
Our access to employment distinguishes us from those without work
And our work is never done
Our laborious efforts have no end
And the war is never won
The conflict with poverty is ceaseless
We build the wall to keep us free
We construct the wall to preserve our freedom
We build the wall to keep us free
We construct the wall to preserve our freedom
Contributed by Carter M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.