Greece ‘s struggle to come out of the economic crisis has many supporters around the world. The most recent one is Grammy-winning Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire.
Singer Will Butler wrote a song called “Clean Monday,” named after the day the Greek Orthodox Lent starts. But the song is not about religion or Greek religious customs. It is about a clean start for Greece; the coincidence of the religious holiday and the day Greece presented the list of reforms to its creditors. The lyrics urge the institutions to give Greece a break and help end the crippling austerity:
“Take your robe off / Take out your thumbs / It’s just about some money loss. You know we’re not scared / Of what could happen / If you leave us standing on our feet,” Butler sings under a cascade of strings.
Arcade Fire debuted the song for British daily The Guardian. It is part of a project to write a song each day based on the headlines in the newspaper.
Butler said he admires the youthfulness of Greece’s new left-wing government and particularly Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, the economics professor who became a politician and now is negotiating with creditors and Germany, which has championed a hard line over Greece’s economic crisis.
Writing about the song in the newspaper, Butler said: “I’m rooting for Greece. I mean, broadly, who the hell isn’t rooting for Greece? Even if you’re super right-wing, or super German, or super capitalist you probably don’t want Greece tumbling out of the euro and defaulting on its debts.”
The Montreal-based band led by Butler won a Grammy for “The Suburbs,” Album of the Year in 2011. The Canadian musician was also nominated for an Oscar last year for his score for the dark comedy “Her.”
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