Footnotes to "Big World"

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Wild West

"Through Monument Valley to California sun ..."
Monument Valley lies on the border between Utah and Arizona.

"From New Amsterdam to the Way the West Was Won"
New Amsterdam was the name of New York between 1624 and 1664.

"From New Amsterdam to the Way the West Was Won"
A reference to the time of the settlers in the American West, immortalised in the film "How the West Was Won" from 1962.

Internet Movie Database entry for "How the West Was Won"

"In the land of the free and the not so often brave ..."
A reference to the US national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner, which contains the words "the land of the free and the home of the brave". These words were written by Francis Scott Key in 1814.

"... the President, the pied piper of the TV screen ..."
The US president at the time was Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). He was in office from 1981-89.

"... the President, the pied piper of the TV screen ..."
Reference to the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

"You like the Yankees or the Mets this year ..."
The Yankees and the Mets are the two major New York baseball teams.

"Looking over Hong Kong harbour ..."
Hong Kong, the former British crown colony in China, which reverted to Chinese control in 1997.

"Sitting on a beach in Bali ..."
Bali, an Indonesian island.

"Sitting on the floor in Kyoto ..."
Kyoto, the former capital of Japan (between 794 and 1868).

"From the Leningradsky Prospekt ..."
A street in Moscow, Russia.

"On the road to Mandalay ..."
Mandalay, an important city in Myanmar (formerly Burma).

"Café sur les Champs-Élysées ..."
The Champs-Élysées are the main boulevard in the French capital Paris.

"Baklava in Istanbul ..."
Istanbul is Turkey's largest city. It was the capital of the Ottoman Empire until 1922.

"Smoke a pipe in Casablanca ..."
Casablanca is an important city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.

Shanghai is the largest city in China.

(on the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II)
The Second World War ended in Europe on 8 May 1945 (VE Day) and in the Pacific on 15 Aug 1945 (VJ Day).

"Here in Berlin people line up to get in ..."
Berlin was the capital of Germany from 1871-1945 and again since German reunification in October 1990. Before the fall of the Wall in 1989, people had to wait at checkpoints before entering West Berlin.

"Here in D.C. they talk about 'Euro-disease' ..."
Washington, D.C., the US capital.

"Motions are passed in Brussels but no-one agrees ..."
Brussels is the seat of the most important institutions of the European Community (now: European Union). It is also the national capital of Belgium and the seat of the international secretariat of NATO.

"And every gorgeous girl in Hollywood could soon be mine ..."
Hollywood, a district of the city of Los Angeles, California, which is synonymous with the US film industry.

"And all the record stores are filled with pretty boys and their material girls ..."
"Material Girl" is the title of a song by Madonna which was a big hit in 1985 (US no. 2, UK no. 3).

"And even students vote for actors ..."
A reference to Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) who had an acting career (1937-1964) before he became the 40th US president (1981-89).

Internet Movie Database entry for Ronald Reagan

"And all the hippies work for IBM or take control ..."
IBM, a multinational company, once the largest manufacturer of computers in the world.

"You see the camera that I got in Hong Kong ..."
Hong Kong, the former British crown colony in China, which reverted to Chinese control in 1997.

"Let's get a Big Mac ..."
The Big Mac is the best-known item on the menu of the McDonald's fast food chain.

"We'll save some money and we'll hire Big Ben ..."
Big Ben is a popular name for the Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament in London, the UK capital. Properly, it is the name of the bell in that tower.

"The General and the Lady dance ..."
"The General" is Argentina's General Leopoldo Galtieri (1926-2003) and "the Lady" Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013), UK prime minister from 1979-1990, known as "the Iron Lady".

They were the two main opponents in the Falklands War which broke out when Argentina invaded the islands on 2 April 1982. Following a fierce conflict in which over 1000 Argentinian and British lives were lost, the islands were returned to British rule 14-15 June 1982. The cost of the Falklands War was £1.6 billion. It involved 15,000 British military personnel.

"She flashes victory signs and smokes cigars ..."
This is a reference to UK prime minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965) who was famous for flashing victory signs and smoking cigars. The impliction is that Margaret Thatcher imitated Churchill – see picture:

"They can't even agree on the name ..."
While the British use the name "Falkland Islands", Argentina calls them "Malvinas". This name dispute goes deeper than the usual use of different names in different languages. The Argentinians see the naming after the 5th Viscount of Falkland, former Treasurer of the Navy, as a manifestation of UK sovereignty.

"... and tickets and the Daily News ..."
The Daily News is a New York newspaper.

"Back to my home town ..."
Joe Jackson's home town is Portsmouth, England, where he grew up from the age of one. You can read about Joe's childhood in Portsmouth in his autobiographical book A Cure for Gravity.

"... or if you watch the skies for Superman ..."
Superman, a comic-strip hero created 1938 in the US by writer Jerome Siegel and artist Joseph Shuster.