Little Boxes

Heard this song for the first time while sampling Peter Seeger's CD's on rhapsody.com.

This really struck a chord with me. Does this describe the culture you find yourself surrounded in? It certainly does describe Orange County, California which prides itself as the epicenter of Suburbia USA and the hotbed of conservative Evangelicalism, which was the main factor behind my "no-brainer" decision to flee the urban decay and poverty of Los Angeles in exchange for suburban paradise just over 10 years ago.

Now the prevailing cookie cutter mentality drives me out of my mind....

By Malvina Reynolds

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All go to the university,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
And there's doctors and there's lawyers
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf-course,
And drink their Martini dry,
And they all have pretty children,
And the children go to school.
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
And they all get put in boxes
And they all come out the same.

And the boys go into business,
And marry, and raise a family,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.