Plymouth Rock: Did Malcolm X Lift A Line From Cole Porter?
I was listening a few days ago to Cole Porter’s Anything Goes.
Here are the first few lines from that famous song written in 1934—
Times have changed,
And we’ve often rewound the clock,
Since the Puritans got a shock,
When they landed on Plymouth Rock.
If today,
Any shock they should try to stem,
‘Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock,
Plymouth Rock would land on them.
Now here is Malcolm’s famous line about Plymouth Rock–
We’re not Americans, we’re Africans who happen to be in America. We were kidnapped and brought here against our will from Africa. We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock–that rock landed on us”
Hmmmm. Do you think Malcolm sat around listening to Cole Porter? You never know.
I’ve seen Plymouth Rock a few times. Though if you’ve seen it once, you’ve covered it for a lifetime. You’re seeing it in the photo above.
Here is a link to a Malcolm X reading list.
Here is a link to a Cole Porter reading list.
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Welcome To Texas Liberal
Texas Liberal is a blog of politics and political history.
My name is Neil Aquino. Here is my profile.
(Above—The Amirta Sher-Gil painting Three Girls. It was painted in 1935.)
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Texas Liberal began regular posting on July 25, 2006.
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I read the Malcolm X autobiography some years ago, though I was a Republican then. It still made quite an impact on me though.
The imagery is Biblical,
Jesus is referring to Himself as “that stone.”
Whosplayin—The Black Muslim message of self-reliance and restraint in personal conduct has some Republican followers. I recall a follower of the Nation of Islam in Cincinnati who ran for office as a Republican.
Laz—You could be right, but I’m not sure Cole Porter was a churchgoer.
Thanks for both comments.