What where is "Ellis Island" in "HELP IS COMING" Afterglow song

Ellis Island was the typical first port of call for immigrants arriving in the US from Europe.

It's off the bottom tip of Manhattan, NYC but I THINK that in a recent court case it was conferred as legally being a part of New Jersey rather than New York state. I may be wrong on that but I definitely remember Giuliani saying something along the lines of "my ancestors said they landed in New York NOT New Jersey!" (pardon my Cliff Claven-ing with useless trivia!)

no idea what it means in that song - never really listened to it, not a big fan.

re: ellis island - immigration port

it's funny u mention that because this CH song was on a compilation CD http://www.chaosmusic.com/shop/detail.asp?productID=558496 released in Australiasia dedicated 2 charity and freeing the east timor people of indonesia.

& there are a lot of boat people trying to immigrate to usa & australia from indonesia.

i'm not saying that's exactly what neil finn meant when he wrote the song (plus it might not be a place of immigration for asian people, only EUROPEANS, as u said in your post) but the fact that it was featured on that compilation album - (mispelt btw to HOPE is coming) - means it draws parralles to migration / freedom issue.

also on that album i swear was neil's twt song truth but the link above it isn't there - maybe they changed the title. it would be interesting to listen to this cd to see the liner notes and to see if help is coming is changed to hope is coming by some remix or is it the same version?

I think in the song Ellis Island does mean a place you go to on your way to a better life.

Just making it to Ellis Island, however, was not enough - folks were still a boat ride away from New York. Immigrants (I post from US so I think that's correct) could be returned if they had certain diseases, or were mentally ill or mentally feeble. Women had to be accompanied by a male relative (some big danger attached to letting in unaccompanied women, evidently).

So imagine going through that passage in steerage, seeing the Statue of Liberty, and then being "processed" in a language you might not speak, with huge numbers of people, all the while dreading to be pulled aside and not being able to take the very last of leg of the journey.

From memory, it seems like 'Help Is Coming' was written about the wars in Eastern Europe in the 90's - like Kosovo, Croatia, etc. It was aimed at refugees, I think. I don't remember the exact country/region, and haven't listened to the song in a few years, but that's how I remember it. And Ellis Island was the immigrant destination for European settlers in the early 1900's. The scene in Godfather II, where young Vito Andolini lands & has his name changed to Corleone - that was Ellis Island.