In My Country There Is Problem

Song infobox
Name = In My Country There is Problem (Throw the Jew Down the Well)


Caption =
Type =
Artist = Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines
alt Artist =
Album =
Published = 2004 ("Da Ali G Show"), 2006 (album)
Released =
track_no = 8
Recorded =
Genre = Country, humor
Length = 2: 17
Writer = Sacha Baron Cohen
Composer =
Label =
Producer =
Chart position =
Tracks =
prev = Eu Vin Acasa Cu Drag
prev_no = 7
next = Grooming Pubis
next_no = 9
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"In My Country There Is Problem", also known as ""Throw the Jew Down the Well" after the song's key line, is a song written by British and Jewish comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for his comic character Borat Sagdiyev. It features in the 'Country Music' segment of 'Borat's Guide to the USA (Part 2)', that focusses heavily on the (positive) reaction of the patrons of an Arizona country and western bar to the antisemitic sentiments of the song

Background and content

Cohen's character Borat is an extremely anti-Semitic Kazakh journalist who is depicted in "Da Ali G Show" as attempting to learn about the culture of the United Kingdom and, in the HBO series, the United States. In interviews, Cohen, himself being Jewish, has stated that the purpose of Borat was to expose antisemitism in his prospective interview subjects, as well as simply indifference to antisemitism. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6153420.stm BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Cohen defends 'racist' Borat film ] ] [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/sacha_baron_cohen_the_real_borat_finally_speaks/page/3 Sacha Baron Cohen - the Real Borat - Finally Speaks : Rolling Stone ] ] Cohen, as Borat, typically displays his character's fear and hatred of Jews frequently on the show.

The song itself is a country-style song played on acoustic guitar consisting of three verses. The first verse is a complaint about the state of transportation in Kazakhstan, which is followed in a refrain with a call to "Throw transport down the well - so my country can be free." The second verse is directed at the Jews of Kazakhstan, alleging they "take everybody's money", and calling for the listeners to "Throw the Jew Down the Well". The third verse contains a warning for the listener to "be careful of [the Jew's] teeth" before repeating the second refrain. [ [http://www.findlyrics.com/borat/in_my_country_there_is_problem Borat - In My Country There Is Problem Lyrics | FindLyrics.com ] ]

Appearances

Borat debuted the song in the third episode of the second season of "Da Ali G Show" as the climax of the character's investigation of country music. He sang the song at a country music club in Tucson, Arizona, and managed to drive much of the club's patrons to cheer and sing along by the end of the song. [ [http://www.webgeordie.co.uk/borat/usa_country.htm The Unofficial Borat Homepage | Borat's Guide to the USA II, Episode Three: Country Music ] ]

After the episode had been broadcast, The "Jewish Daily Forward" published an article which claimed that the song depicted on the show was in fact a small segment of Borat's full performance at the bar. According to the article, Borat was on stage for over two hours when the sketch was filmed, and the song also contained a rant about throwing his family down the well which helped make it clear that Borat's actions were indeed a joke. [ [http://www.forward.com/articles/comic-pushes-limits-in-antisemitic-sing-along/ "Comic Pushes Limits in Antisemitic Sing-along - Forward.com" ] ]

The song would also be featured on , the soundtrack for the . [ [http://www.spin.com/features/news/2006/10/061012_borat/ SPIN.com: Don't Throw 'Borat' Soundtrack Down the Well ] ]

Analysis

Jody Rosen, writing for "Slate", stated that with the song as well as his other antics Borat managed to offend everyone:

:Borat's performance of "In My Country There Is Problem (Throw the Jew Down the Well)" on an episode of Da Ali G Show. It's a densely packed piece of sociopolitical parody: an incitement to pogrom ("Throw the Jew down the well/ So my country can be free/ You must grab him by his horns/ Then we have a big party") sung by a British Jew disguised as a Central Asian bumpkin before a whooping, Bud-swilling audience at a Tucson, Ariz., honky-tonk. It's hilarious. It's catchy. And it's a perfect distillation of Borat's satirical attack, designed to offend and indict just about everyone: Old Europe and Middle America, fulminating right-wingers and piously PC liberals, in addition to Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Anti-Defamation League director Abraham Foxman. [cite web |publisher= Jody Rosen, Slate |date=December 17, 2006 |title= Borat Owes Me 97 Dollars: How Sacha Baron Cohen is Jewish vaudeville.|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2152773/]

After the episode had been broadcast, the Anti-Defamation League sent Cohen an open letter warning him that, while they understood the message he had intended the sketch to deliver, they were concerned that this aspect may not have been grasped by his audience. [ [http://www.adl.org/media_watch/tv/20040809-hbo.htm Letter to Sacha Baron Cohen ("Ali G") ] ] The organization issued a similar statement prior to the release of the Borat film. [cite web |publisher= Anti-Defamation League|date=17 December, 2006 |title= Statement On The Comedy Of Sacha Baron Cohen, A.K.A. "Borat"|url=http://www.adl.org/PresRele/Mise_00/4898_00.htm]

ee also

*Antisemitism
*Borat
*Da Ali G Show
*List of British Jewish comedians

References

External links

* [http://www.boratmovie.com/ Official Borat Movie website]