"Shame on You" is a single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 from the Indigo Girls

Indigo Girls

The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...

 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 Shaming of the Sun

Shaming of the Sun

Shaming of the Sun is the sixth studio album by the Indigo Girls, released in 1997.-Track listing:#"Shame on You" – 4:04#"Get Out the Map" – 3:25#"Shed Your Skin" – 4:10#"It's Alright" – 3:05...

 released in 1997

1997 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy...

. The song's lyrics celebrate Chicano

Chicano

The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...

 culture ("I go down to Chicano city park/cause it makes me feel so fine") and strongly criticize efforts against illegal immigration

Illegal immigration

Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...

 as being racist

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 ("The white folks like to pretend it's not/but their music's in the air") and hypocritical

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....

 ("They say we be looking for illegal immigrants/can we check your car/I say you know it's funny I think we were on the same boat/back in 1694").

Steve Earle

Steve Earle

Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....

 sings backup and plays harmonica on the song.

The song was inspired by filmmaker David Zeiger's

David Zeiger

David Zeiger is an American film director and producer.Zeiger is best known for directing the documentary Sir! No Sir! and the PBS documentary series Senior Year, Displaced in the New South, which inspired The Indigo Girls song Shame on You, and The Band.-External links:...

documentary Displaced in the New South.

External links

• Lyrics at Indigo Girls' website