1984/Anaïs Mitchell

Previously we looked at David Bowie's take on George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Here's another perspective, Anaïs Mitchell's song "1984" from her 2004 album Hymns for the Exiled. Mitchell compares life in America under the Patriot Act to Orwell's vision of an intrusive totalitarian government that spies on its own citizens and demands complete allegiance: Baby, don't look so nervous, they just want the facts/And it's all written out in the USA Patriot Act. Mitchell also makes reference to Big Brother, the enigmatic despot featured in Orwell's novel: Oh, honey, what did I tell you about the house being bugged?/They can hear us making breakfast, they can hear us making love/But excuse me a minute - Big Brother's at the door/And he's ready to party like it's 1984.

Submitted by Sarah Hughes