9. "Nonsuch" by XTC (1992)

Books are burning
In the main square, and I saw there
The fire eating the text
Books are burning
In the still air
And you know where they burn books
People are next
...
The church of matches
Anoints in ignorance with gasoline
The church of matches
Grows fat by breathing in the smoke of dreams
It's quite obscene

Books are burning
More each day now, and I pray now
You boys will tire of these games
Books are burning
I hope somehow, this will allow
A phoenix up from the flames



(from "Books are Burning")

In 1562 Franciscan monk Diego de Landa was the instigator of several purges in the new Spanish colony of Mexico in which all of the Mayan books in existence at the time were burned: "We found a great number of these books in Indian characters, and becaue the contained nothing but superstition and the Devil's falsehoods, we burned them all; and this they felt most bitterly and it caused them great grief."

Landa was a man of a double-nature, for he also is the author of the Relación de las cosas de Yucatán, the most important document that we have concerning Mayan history.

How do we reconcile the paradox of a man who both burns and writes books? This is no problem once we consider that Landa rejects the slightest identification with the native population of the Yucatan and demands only their assimilation into the Christian religion. "The church of matches anoints in ignorance with gasoline."

Andy Partridge of XTC is, in my opinion, the finest lyricist in rock music. He is a songwriter's songwriter. Great artists tap into universal themes, and, in the case of entertainers, say them in a wry or witty way that gives them an extra spin:

I believe the printed word should be forgiven
Doesn't matter what it said
Wisdom hotline from the dead back to the living
Key to the larder for your heart and your head

What did humanity lose when the Mayan books were burned?

I believe the printed word is more than sacred
Beyond the gauge of good or bad
The human right to let your soul fly free and naked
Above the violence of the fearful and sad

Is free self-expression really our human right? At what point do we have an obligation to moderate that self-expression to fit within a specific societal framework?

cds

p.s. chalkhills.org is THE source for all things XTC.
p.p.s. Historical references come from "The Conquest of America" by Tzvetan Todorov (1982).