It is that time again – time for politicians to try to appear to be in touch with the common man and in doing so, choose mostly inappropriate campaign songs. This phenomenon has been happening for a while now. You might remember that Ronald Reagan used Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” as one of his songs. Oh sure, on the surface, it seemed like quite a good choice. But, let’s look past the title to the actual lyrics. Here are just some of them – “I got in a little hometown jam, And so they put a rifle in my hands, Sent me off to Vietnam, To go and kill the yellow man.”
Oh, that isn’t too terribly patriotic, is it? It gets worse. How about these lines – “I’m ten years down the road, nowhere to run, ain’t got nowhere to go.” Okay, in case Ronnie did not get it, the song is about a disgruntled Vietnam vet. Still, it is a catchy tune.
This year, Republican candidate John McCain has occasionally used John Melloncamp’s song “Pink Houses” while on the campaign trail. Again, on the surface, it seems like a song with a nice message. After all, it says “Oh, but ain’t that America for you and me, Ain’t that America we’re something to see baby, Ain’t that America, home of the free, Little pink houses for you and me.” Aw.
But, let’s look a little deeper into the song, something McCain and his advisors obviously didn’t do. Oh yes, look at these lines – “Well there’s a young man in a t-shirt, Listening to a rockin’ rollin’ station, He’s got a greasy hair, greasy smile, He says: “Lord, this must be my destination”, ‘Cuz they told me, when I was younger, “Boy, you’re gonna be president”, But just like everything else, those old crazy dreams, Just kinda came and went.”
Oh. Well, it does mention being president, but it is talking about a guy who works in a gas station having lost that dream. That is kind of a downer, no? In addition, John Melloncamp, a Democrat, has quietly asked McCain to stop using the song.
However, McCain is not the only presidential hopeful this season that has made a song mistake. Tomorrow, we will see what Hillary Clinton did wrong in the way of the political song.