The Living Room Times

With another set of “Tea Parties” coming up on Saturday, I figured this would be a good time to re-post the satirical anthem that I published as a Facebook Note back in April. It’s sort of like a sequel to Becky’s and my Election Eve version of “One Day More” from Les Misérables. This one, though, is set to “Do You Hear the People Sing” and “Finale.”

(NOTE: See the obligatory humor-killing caveat below.)

*   *   *   *   *

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men
We are conservatives who’ve found
That we have principles again!
When George Bush ballooned the debt
We saw no need to beat the drums
But now we stand against
These free-spending liberal bums!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Don’t let your outrage fade!
Instead, destroy symbolic tea!
And join in the fight
Against mythical tyranny!

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing about the bailouts’ cost
It is the music of a people
Who still can’t believe we lost
In Barack Obama’s heart
We know that socialism lies
And we have no clue what the
word “teabagging” implies

Will you give all you can give
So that our vague ideas advance?
Our agenda’s nonspecific,
But who needs a detailed stance?
When the Democrats want to turn
America into France!

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of fear and fret
A grave recession is the moment
To cut back and pay our debt
Economics 101
is too complex for you and me
Let’s just wave signs,
chant angry slogans, and dump some tea!

*   *   *   *   *

Do you hear the people sing?
Fighting against the liberals’ greed
It is the music of a people
Who want Texas to secede
A marginal tax hike on the rich
Would spell our freedom’s swift demise
So we’ll adopt the protest tactics
That we despise

We will fight against the bailouts
We refuse to be ignored
Rick Santelli loosed the pitchforks
And Glenn Beck unsheathed the sword
Now those assholes in Congress
and Wall Street will have their reward!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond this lame charade
Are there some cuts you’d like to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the populist drums?
We’ll keep on teabagging
‘Til the revolution comes!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with Galt?
I’m not sure why we’re in this mess
But I am sure it’s not our fault
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear our rambling plea?
Time to wave signs,
chant angry slogans, and dump some tea!

Whoooa…. ohhh…. let’s dump some tea!!!

(Photos by yours truly, taken at the Tax Day Tea Party at the State Capitol in Denver. More here. Full Flickr photoset here.)

*OBLIGATORY HUMOR-KILLING CAVEAT: I don’t deny that the Tea Partiers have some valid points — I, too, am quite concerned about the deficit, for instance — but, much like anti-war/anti-globalization protests and the like, those valid points tend to get drowned out by the ridiculous excesses. In any event, I freely acknowledge that this song is not entirely fair, let alone balanced. But it’s not supposed to be fair or balanced; it’s supposed to be funny! Maybe at some point I’ll have the inspiration to write a version of “I Dreamed A Dream” as sung by President Obama. 🙂