whistling Dixie

[blacknomi]

A:Boy! That graveyard shift was a killer?
B:You aren't whistling Dixie.

Something about slave?

[MW]

"Dixie" was the battle song of the separatist Southern States in the failed American Civil War. If you whistle Dixie you are singing the battle cry of the side that lost, a useless act. If it is said that you are not whistling Dixie then it means that there is validity to what you have said or what you are doing.

Put another way, you are not (whistling Dixie) wrong.

[blacknomi]

wo3 zhi1 dao4 le. Xie4 xie4 ni3 :)

So if I said "You are whistling Dixie," meaning you are wrong.

[MW]

More "useless" than wrong.

[blacknomi]

Clear now. Thanks, Martin.

Hey! I know a great song by the songwriter Kevin Devine who is called "Whistling Dixie". In that song he sings about America. I'm just looking for the lyrics to post them...

"We're a nation full of dumbbells
pulling nightshifts at the gym
we're a nation full of bookworm girls
dumbing down to fall in love with them

we're a nation full of suspects
whistling Dixie at the scene
we're a nation full of bad detectives
selling clues to everyone we meet

we're a nation full of envy
Insecure and losing sleep
we're a nation full of jealous boyfriends
driven nuts by facts and history

we're a nation full of ivy
it's wall-to-wall-to-wall all green
we're a nation full of sound byte blood cells
bound in nkots and swelling donw the stream

we wrap bibles up in blankets
just in case we're watched in sleep
but it's the slingshots underneath our pillows
theatus calm and rested and relieved

'cause we're a nation built on eggshells
bandages and appleseed
attractive homes on top bruised foundations
that come apart gradually

before they're leveled completely"


I'm not able to understand every scentence in these lyrics because I've just been learning English for 2 years now. But as far as I can understand, I think the text and your explanations go well together.

[twostep]

Originally Posted by Kid A

Hey! I know a great song by the songwriter Kevin Devine who is called "Whistling Dixie". In that song he sings about America. I'm just looking for the lyrics to post them...

"We're a nation full of dumbbells
pulling nightshifts at the gym
we're a nation full of bookworm girls
dumbing down to fall in love with them

we're a nation full of suspects
whistling Dixie at the scene
we're a nation full of bad detectives
selling clues to everyone we meet

we're a nation full of envy

But this is not the song Blacknomi was talking about.
Insecure and losing sleep
we're a nation full of jealous boyfriends
driven nuts by facts and history

we're a nation full of ivy
it's wall-to-wall-to-wall all green
we're a nation full of sound byte blood cells
bound in nkots and swelling donw the stream

we wrap bibles up in blankets
just in case we're watched in sleep
but it's the slingshots underneath our pillows
theatus calm and rested and relieved

'cause we're a nation built on eggshells
bandages and appleseed
attractive homes on top bruised foundations
that come apart gradually

before they're leveled completely"


I'm not able to understand every scentence in these lyrics because I've just been learning English for 2 years now. But as far as I can understand, I think the text and your explanations go well together.

[blacknomi]

Twostep,

What did you intend to say? 8)

[MW]

"Silence is golden" so keep your mouth shut and get rich quick?

Originally Posted by blacknomi

Twostep,

What did you intend to say? 8)

I think there went something wrong with the quote:

But this is not the song Blacknomi was talking about.

That's what Twostep said. :D
And no, I don't think this is the song Blacknomi mentioned, but it came to my mind when I read the headline of the thread. :)