Which Hat Shall I Wear

Song Meaning

The lyrics present a stark contrast between outward pronouncements and underlying actions, particularly concerning school integration. The narrator claims to support integration, stating, "With school integration I fully agree," and even expresses a desire for her son, Jimmy, to be with "his darker-skinned brothers." This public stance, however, quickly unravels when confronted with the practicalities and implications of such integration. The central tension emerges in the narrator's vacillation over attending the PTA meeting, framed by the trivial decision of choosing a hat. This seemingly mundane choice masks a deeper conflict: her stated support for integration versus her apparent resistance to it, revealed when she claims her son is "too small / To ride to your school on a bus." The lyrics suggest this is a convenient excuse, a way to avoid the very integration she claims to endorse. The most striking aspect of the craft is the subtle, almost passive-aggressive way the narrator addresses Mary, her employee. The narrator professes fondness for "your people" while simultaneously delegating domestic chores and offering a "green silk" dress, implying a transactional relationship rather than genuine solidarity. This dynamic highlights the performative nature of the narrator's progressive ideals, which crumble under the weight of personal inconvenience. Ultimately, these lyrics hit hard because they expose the hypocrisy that can lie beneath polite society's veneer. The narrator's superficial concern for appearances – the hats, the PTA meeting – is juxtaposed with her dismissive treatment of Mary and her flimsy justifications for opposing integration. The song reveals how easily progressive rhetoric can be abandoned when it clashes with personal comfort or ingrained prejudice.