I’m no choreographer, but after watching the State of the Union address (what with all the stand up, sit down, clap here, clap there) I felt like I was watching a well rehearsed Broadway show. Actually, it felt more like a morning kids show where it’s “wake up, stand up, shakey shakey, clap clap.” Kentucky showed me part of this chord progression during a break at the Northside Tavern. He said he learned it off of a Bluegrass player trying to copy a bluesman. It sounded silly to me, so I thought I’d use it for a song about a silly bunch of grown men.
Click here to hear ‘Up and Down’
Up and Down
2/5/06
the red suits down in Washingtown
all stand up when blue sits down
like a grown up game of hokey pokey
put the right vote in & shake it okey dokey
what goes up may not fly
if Simon says “jump” they’ll say how high
the state of the union’s up and down
gas is high, then gas is low
one thing’s for certain, we’re all flat broke
terrorists are on the rise, but
we’re on our knees with God on our side
the war, it gets me down and blue
but if everybody claps then I’ll clap too
the state of the union’s up and down
Let’s play follow the leader
I’ll be the one in charge
If I wink and I nod then it’s time to applaud
the state of the union’s up and down
health care costs on the rise
schools are in decline
Iran nukes starting up
National budget is a bust
Bird flu taking flight
Social security, good night
Even if I’m unsound, just turn your frown upside down
gas is up then gas is down
the war, it just keeps hanging round
while terrorism’s on the rise
the economy’s in decline
Especially when it’s down with the party line
we clap each time we make a capture
then we cry when a son goes down
we’re sometimes up we’re sometimes down
we’re torn in half we’re red and blue
the state of the union’s me vs. you
a stingy global economy,
skyrocketing health care costs,
troubled U.S. schools,
looming budget deficits and
government corruption.
This article appears in Feb 8-14, 2006.