Screenshot of Loudon Wainwright III from his video "I Had A Dream," produced by Judd Apatow for Funny Or Die.
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May 27, 2016, singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III released his newest song on Soundcloud (of which I was the 31,880th listener) and as a single on Story Song Records.
May 27, 2016, singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III released his newest song on Soundcloud (of which I was the 31,880th listener) and as a single on Story Song Records.
Initially I didn’t want to write a song about Donald Trump but sometimes in the course of human events things get so weird that you can’t look a gift horse in the mouth, especially if the horse has a real mouth on him. In the past, I’ve taken pot shots in song at political figures of fun like Jesse Helms, Newt Gingrich, Bill & Hill, Bush, Cheney, et al., but folks - this is serious. We hold some truths to be self-evident and apparently Mr. Trump does not.
Soon, his frequent collaborator, filmmaker Judd Apatow had produced a video, which Funny or Die released June 13. (H/T to Rory O'Connor for pointing it out to me via Facebook.) According to Paste Magazine, Apatow explains,
I got involved because I love Loudon Wainwright as much as I don’t love Trump....Hopefully this song will not make sense in a year—when Trump is back to running his prestigious university full time.
Here are the lyrics:
I had a dream - I don’t know what it meant,
But I dreamed Donald Trump was our president.
There on election night, right by his side -
His flunky Chris Christie, along for the ride.
But it gets worse - just wait, there’s more -
He made Jeff Sessions Secretary of War,
And, just like he promised, he built him that wall.
He blew up Cuba and he carpet bombed Montreal.
I had a dream - I woke up in a cold sweat -
The Donald was elected in a huge upset.
He made a bad deal with Putin, a secret pact with Assad.
He told the pope where to go - I swear to God.
As for the Supreme Court, he got to choose -
He filled the vacancy up with lyin’ Ted Cruz.
His face was bright orange, and his hair was just weird,
But we were made great again, embarrassed and feared.
Yeah, I had a dream, and here’s how it went -
I dreamed that the Trumpster was the president.
His little finger on the button, he was doin’ his thing -
Our new national anthem was “My Ding-a-ling.”
We were bought and sold, like in Monopoly -
He had the most hotels in the land of the free,
Locked up the opposition, and the demonstrators, too -
That would be me, and it might be you.
I had a dream - I’m not sure what it meant
When I dreamed Donald Trump was our president.
And it wasn’t even close - he won it in a landslide.
Our new hot First Lady - she was beaming with pride.
If you think that’s cool, don’t fool yourself -
He made Ben Carson Secretary of Health,
And Sarah Palin Secretary of Stealth,
And If you think that’s scary, well just you wait -
He made Newt Gingrich the Secretary of State,
And Rush Limbaugh the Secretary of Hate!
Dreams come true, and there’s prophesy,
And sometimes a nightmare is a reality.
