Ah, now I don't hardly know her
But I think I could love her
Crimson and clover
Ah when she comes walking over
Now I've been waitin' to show her
Crimson and clover over and over
Yeah, my, my such a sweet thing
I wanna do everything
What a beautiful feeling
Crimson and clover over and over
Crimson and clover over and over
Crimson and clover over and over
Crimson and clover over and over
Crimson and clover over and over

This syrupy ode speaks to the doting part of the ongoing love/hate relationship enthusiastically carried on between foreigners and America. That goes double for various types of ‘domestic foreigners’ like first generation immigrants, Blacks, and other minority groups that assimilate with difficulty, if at all.
“Ah“, exclaims the perennial rank outsider, “Now I don’t hardly know her.” Naturally this is the case when one ‘don’t hardly know’ English. It’s hard to make it with someone you admire when there are communication problems. “But I think I could love her.” Undaunted, the outsider continues to hope. dream, and strive.
‘Crimson and clover’ _Crimson represents the American People, with which the Outsider desires to unite. Crimson also means to make or become crimson. The Outsider also wants to make his beloved something like himself, by adding his own blood to the melting pot mix. We Americans have, however, only succeeded in becoming mixed unmixed.
“Ah, when she comes walking over.” Yes, America just can’t resist walking over to other lands in order to mix it up with the Outsider. Every generation of the ‘Crimson tide’ does this, and any excuse will do_ oil, war-land gone bad, civilization, dictator gone mad, WMD, oil, what have you. Whatever the pretext, Uncle Sam will walk over seas to put boots on the ground, and some Outsider will get stepped on, sure as you’re born.
“Now I’ve been waiting to show her.” The outsider knows when Crimson Sam is walking his way -he sees the buildup on CNN- and he can’t hardly wait to show Sam what he’s made of. Outsider knows that albeit Crimson Sam is all armored up, that just makes him overdressed for the hot foreign climate. By judiciously slaughtering only one or two Americans a day, the Outsider makes it even hotter. But then, that’s the hate part of the love/hate affair.
“Such a sweet thing.” Compared to where he is, or hails from, life is certainly sweeter in the USA. Outsider ‘wanna do everything’, and indeed he can do nearly any career for himself and even make a good future for his children.
“What a beautiful feeling.” In America we all feel the love/hate. There’s that giddy sensation of prosperity, movin’ on up-- just a rolling in clover. “Over and over . . .over and over.” From Harlem to Honolulu, the fun never ends.