KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Contemporary from a day of delivering optimistic prognoses about how Ukraine would fare within the struggle with Russia regardless of gloomy information from the entrance strains, U.S. Secretary of State and newbie musician Antony Blinken could have thought he had the right upbeat music to carry out with a Kyiv bar band on his fourth go to to the capital because the battle started in 2022.

“I do know it is a actually, actually troublesome time,” Blinken instructed a packed crowd within the subterranean membership Barman Dictat on Tuesday night time.

“Your troopers, your residents, notably within the northeast in Kharkiv, are struggling tremendously,” he mentioned. “However they should know, it is advisable to know, the US is with you, a lot of the world is with you. And so they’re preventing not only for a free Ukraine however for the free world, and the free world is with you, too.”

With these phrases and strumming a purple guitar, Blinken and the native group 19.99 launched into Neil Younger’s hit “Rockin’ within the Free World,” ostensibly to encourage Ukrainians to maintain up the struggle towards Russia and maintain to their Western aspirations, regardless of quite a few battlefield setbacks that led President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a day later to cancel all his upcoming overseas journeys.

With its chorus “Carry on rockin’ within the free world,” Younger’s 1989 music sounds prefer it needs to be an homage to the glory of residing within the West, uncompromised by communism or authoritarianism. In truth, as quite a few social media critics famous, the tune is a lament about despair and distress brought on by homelessness, drug dependancy and poverty within the celebrated free world.

A charitable interpretation is likely to be that Blinken selected to carry out the music to underscore the significance of overcoming adversity by sticking to ones’ goals of peace and freedom. In any case, that had been the overall theme of his remarks at occasions in Kyiv since his practically pre-dawn arrival after an in a single day prepare journey from Poland and it could proceed to be on Wednesday.

“I’ve come to Ukraine with a message: You aren’t alone,” Blinken had instructed an viewers of scholars and educators on the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute shortly earlier than taking to Barman Dictat’s basement stage.

“By no means wager towards Ukraine,” he mentioned at a Wednesday information convention with Ukrainian International Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

However as Blinken sang the “carry on rockin’ within the free world” refrain, which is repeated 12 instances within the 4-minute 40-second music, Russian troops have been advancing close to and round Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest metropolis, and Zelenskyy was within the technique of deciding to place off a deliberate journey to Spain and Portugal later this week to cope with the disaster.

Thus, any supposed musical encouragement — in each content material and venue — left at the least some observers scratching their heads.

Kyiv-based analyst Oleksandr Kraiev, director of the North America program on the Ukrainian Prism assume tank, mentioned Blinken’s go to was welcome however identified that he and lots of Ukrainians have been puzzled by his two-day keep, together with his cease at Barman Dictat, which was seen as inappropriate by some, given the present fraught wartime local weather.

“From my perspective, and customarily talking from the perspective of widespread Ukrainians, it was not a really acceptable signal to go to the bar to have a small music with our band,” he mentioned, noting that Ukrainian navy recruitment officers are identified to go to bars and nightclubs to verify paperwork and catch draft dodgers.

“So (for the) secretary of state of the US additionally to go to a bar, to have a small live performance for people who find themselves blamed for not enlisting within the Ukrainian military,” Kraiev mentioned, “it’s not, let’s say, a disaster, it’s not a fake pas, but it surely’s one thing that isn’t very fascinating from the perspective of widespread Ukrainians.”

U.S. officers with Blinken shrugged on the on-line criticism the secretary was receiving about his music selection and determination to sing at a bar. Additionally they mentioned he wouldn’t have executed the occasion if he had thought it was inappropriate.

Extra broadly, the potential disconnect between the week’s battlefield developments and Blinken’s optimism was mirrored in his actions and the scale of his delegation.

In contrast to on all of his three earlier wartime journeys to Kyiv, Blinken introduced a full complement of workers and press with him. And whereas safety was tight, he spent a great deal of time away from conferences with authorities officers, partaking with college college students, civic leaders, native businesspeople and, after all, bar-goers. And, in contrast to on all of his earlier visits besides his final go to in September, he selected to spend the night time within the metropolis.

But, it might be “Rockin’ within the Free World,” its refrain and opening stanza — “There’s colours on the road; Purple, white and blue; Individuals shufflin’ their ft; Individuals sleepin’ of their sneakers; However there’s a warnin’ signal; on the street forward; There’s lots of people sayin’; we’d be higher off lifeless.” — that the go to is remembered for.

Because the band hit the opening notes, Blinken commented wryly: “I don’t know if we will pull this off.” And, then, based on the official State Division transcript: “(Music was performed.)”

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Samya Kullab contributed.