OK, channeling my inner folky here. I was influenced in the 60s by a number of folk singers & folk groups, such as: Dylan; Donovan; The Kingston Trio; Peter, Paul, & Mary; The Chad Mitchel Trio; et al. I didn't understand the meaning of some of the lyrics of the more politically-oriented songs, but that didn't stop me from enjoying them. Now, however, I am older but wiser -- not intended to be a factual statement (IAAOAIT) -- & can appreciate the not-so-subtle snark.
Which brings me to one of my favorite Chad Mitchel Trio songs, Barry's Boys. (I couldn't find an original version to link to, but this is a great cover!) As with my magnum opus, Jonah, Jonah -- click the link, you know you want to, & you won't at all be sorry! -- the title (inspired by the Romney Boys' recent TV appearance) & alternate lyrics practically wrote themselves. Actually, it's more than a little scary how relevant these lyrics, written in 1964, still are.
So, without further adieu, I give you ...
Romney's Boys
We're the bright young men
Who wanna go back to nineteen-ten
We're Barry's Romney's boys
We're the kids with a cause
Yes a government like grandmama's
We're Barry's Romney's boys
We're the new kind of youth at your Alma Mater
Back to silver standards and solid Goldwater
Back to when the poor were poor and rich were rich
And you felt so damn secure just knowing which were which
We're the kids who agree
To be social without security
We're Barry's Romney's boys
'Cause his hat's in the ring
Where Westbrook Pegler Ronald Reagan once was king
Now he's too left wing
So if you don't recognize any old Red China
Or Canada, or Britain, or South Carolina a woman's vagina
You too can join the crew
Tippecanoe and Nixon too
Back to Barry Romney
Back to cash and carry potent-omni
Back with Barry's Romney's boys
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get from the left to the right (riiiiight)
Roses are red, violets are blue
Walter Lippmann's Judith Miller's a pinko, too (you got it, Joe)
A-na-ka-nee, ka-nah, ka-nay ka-wood
Let's investigate the PTA Planned Parenthood
Barry, Barry Romney, Romney make your bid
I love John Birch, but oh you kid
Mother, mother, wear a grin
And don't complain, or we'll turn you in
Hold the presses, stop the mail
The Pentagon's having a one-cent sale
What's the latest news statistic?
Hootenannies are The ACA is socialistic
Shut the door and lock and latch it
Here comes Lizzie Cheney with a brand new hatchet
Back with Barry's Romney's boys
We're the kids full of nerve
As long as it's conservative, we're Barry's Romney's boys
And we can't comprehend
Why our your parents aren't friendlier to Barry's Romney's boys
Why Dad once crusaded for Sacco/Vanzetti civil-rights marchers
Now all we're doing is doing the same for John Paul Getty both the Koch brothers
Our Your parents emulated Roosevelt and Farley Ho Chi Minh & Stalin
But we just want to grow up to be like Ev and Charley Sarah Palin
No college days with Socrates and Plato
When you're Barry's Romney's boys
You just organize parades for the abolishment of NATO
And the rest
The entire West
So let's go back to the days when men were men
And start the First World War Stonewall riots all over again
That's right you tell'em son
Isolationism Fundamentalism can be fun
Back to Barry Romney
Back to cash and carry potent-omni
Back with Barry's Romney's
And remember, "I'm an American first, and a politician second."
Spoken like a true American politician
Back with Barry Romney
Not with Lyndon, Ike or Harry Clinton, Bush, or Mommy
Back with Barry's Romney's boys
Thank you! I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your diarist!!