“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” (Attributed to Thomas Jefferson)

Hey, all you people, it’s not fake news

That there’s a challenge we can’t refuse:

Everyone needs to apply

With stakes so high,

When our democracy’s got the blues. . .

Hey, all you people, you’ve got to care

When all the voting laws go unfair,

When all the agents of hate

Discriminate

Against the right to elect fresh air. . . 

CHORUS: Freedom ain’t free!

Comes with a fee!

Like Mister Jefferson said:

There is a price to liberty. . .

No one can see when their eyes are closed

What they can see with their eyes exposed,

Isn’t it time that you took

A good, hard look

At all the shit that is being proposed?

Jim Crow in a suit and a tie

Lookin’ for some rights to deny,

Hear this! This prejudice

We are always going to defy . .

CHORUS: Freedom ain’t free!

Comes with a fee!

Like Mister Jefferson said:

There is a price to liberty. . .

We love you, you’re very special, you do just what we say,

My loyal soldiers forever and a day,

I need an army to do what we must do,

I know you will come through. . .

Adore you, implore you, the time to fight is here,

If you want our country not to disappear,

Not to be stolen by thieves who aren’t pure,

Our rebellion is the cure. . .

I built the greatest economy of time!

And made my best and biggest supporters so very rich,

I built a wall no Mexicans can climb

And called McConnell a son of a bitch!

It’s simple, a pimple is something that you pop, 

Likewise bad voters are voters that you stop, 

Stop them from voting for things you know are wrong,

‘Cause bad voters don’t belong. . .

I am the greatest President since Abe! 

Put me on Rushmore right along side of the other greats,

And I will always be married to a babe,

Always on top of my United States. . . 

We love you, you’re very special, you do just what we say,

My loyal soldiers forever and a day,

I need an army to do what we must do,

I know you will come through. . .

We love you, you’re very special,

We love you, you’re very special. . . 

Be strong, my children, for I am near,

Just when you needed me, I will appear,

I am the uterus, you are the spawn,

No way to neuter us,

Wear the armor of the Goddess of the Dawn. . . 

Be brave, my children, war has begun,

All those Republicans, see what they’ve done!

We need to fell them, traitors begone!

Need to repel them

With the armor of the Goddess of the Dawn. . . 

Got a right to breathe, got a right to sing,

A right to repair a broken wing,

Got a right to be, to be the antidote

To racism’s cruelty, got a right to vote!

Got a right to put my ballot in the box,

To say “No, thanks!” to the red state of hard knocks, 

Got a right to work until I’m seein’ double,

A right to get into what John Lewis called good trouble. . .

There was once a girl who really made her mark,

Leading the hopeful to the light from the dark,

Who persevered when the choices were stark,

They called her a savior, called her Joan of Arc,

My name is Stacey Abrams and I will be your guide

When the mountains are tall and the river is wide,

On my back and shoulders, a powerful stride,

All across this nation healing the divide. . . 

Be strong, my children, for I am near,

Just when you needed me, I will appear,

I am the uterus, you are the spawn,

No way to neuter us,

Wear the armor of the Goddess of the Dawn. . . 

Be brave, my children, war has begun,

All those Republicans, see what they’ve done!

We need to fell them, traitors begone!

Need to repel them

With the armor of the Goddess of the Dawn. . . 

20,000 lies,

Feel them hypnotize

The unwary eyes 

Of fools,

Lies so like a blight

[Background:] (Misinformation)

Turning day to night, (Disinformation)

Helping us to smite (This information)

The rules. . .

When there’s a din, then lies win

With their spin. . .

Call me Stephen Miller,

And tho’ I am no thriller,

I am still a killer

Of life,

Filling him with filler, (Misinformation)

My hand is on the tiller, (Disinformation)

Of Donald Trump, the pillar (This information)

Of strife. . .

Truth is the commonplace common man stuck on the ground,

Lies are the shimmering carousel spinning ‘round,

Truth is the plainclothes policeman out on the beat,

Lies are the dazzling criminals of deceit. . . 

When there’s a din, then lies win

With their spin. . .

Wake up, all you woke,

You are just a joke,

Blowing all your smoke

My way,

Rolling off my tongue, (Misinformation)

My favorite brand of dung: (Disinformation)

All my falsehoods sprung (This information)

Your way. . .

Misinformation can be used with deadly force,

Disinformation gives virtue a charley horse,

Misinformation is just like the reddest tide,

Leaving all in its wake, even the truth that died. . .

(background: Traveling without her husband on an alleged fact-finding trip to McAllen, Texas, Melania Trump wore a designer coat – or perhaps cape is more accurate – that in large, flowing script read “I Really Don’t Care, Do U?”)

What’s a girl to do here in old Slovenia?

There’s really not much to entertain ya,

How can I use my most attractive shape

To liberate myself and ESCAPE!?

I’m really Donald’s strumpet, I blow his little trumpet,

And give his tiny manhood such a toot,

Romantically striving but I’m really just conniving

To take him to the cleaners in a suit!

I Really Don’t Care, Do U?

I Really Don’t Care, Do U?

He’s so very, very pudgy, I can’t find his little budgie!

And the image of him naked makes me weep,

The Lincoln bedroom is really just a dead room

Where I go to pretend that I’m asleep,

I Really Don’t Care, Do U?

I Really Don’t Care, Do U?

I really do not care, I really do not care,

As long as my hair looks good,

When I give the lower classes tips on my designer glasses,

It’s everything a First Lady should! 

No, I’m not so brainy

But I survived Sloveni-y

And never down the drain-y will I go, ‘cause

There’s no business like show business,

Like the rolling in dough business,

Mink from head to toe-o business

And it’s my place just to go with the flow. . .

I Really Don’t Care, Do U?

I Really Don’t Care, Do U?

Has it ever struck you that I’m saying, “Fuck you!”

Every time I button up this coat?

Take it from the haute me

And you can even quote me

That I think the White House needs a moat,

I Really Don’t Care, Do U?

I Really Don’t Care, Do U?

Got lots to do, got lots to do!

Gotta be savin’ the red, white and blue!

Got lots to be, got lots to be,

Gotta be shelt’rin’ the land of the free!

And, no, there’s not even a moment to catch our breath,

And not when it comes to our country, it’s life or death. . .

Support Tammy Duckworth, support what’s the buck worth,

Support equal pay,

New minimum wages, no babies in cages,

It’s all in a day,

The Violence Against Women Act needs our full support,

And parity for boys and girls when it comes to sport,  

We hold the fort,

Long story short. . .

(BRIDGE): The days start so early and end so late,

There’s no time to dicker or bloviate

With so much to heal,

To stop the Stop the Steal,

And there’s the Green New Deal. . .

If the gestation of a healthy nation is yet to survive,

We have our choices, our votes and voices and our overdrive,

Devoted to all of a lifetime of giving birth,

To all of a lifetime of nurturing Mother Earth

For all she’s worth,

Our Mother Earth. . .

(BRIDGE): A woman’s work, they say, is never done,

Not when there’s so much that’s so very un-

American to defeat

For each Congressional seat,

Now repeat:

Got lots to do, got lots to do!

Gotta be savin’ the red, white and blue!

Got lots to be, got lots to be,

Gotta be shelt’rin’ the land of the free!

And, no, there’s not even a moment to catch our breath,

And not when it comes to our country, it’s life or death. . .

(Original song by Cole Porter/adapted lyric by Christy) 

INTRO: I used to fall in love with all,

And then I’d maul the young cuties,

But now I find I’m more inclined 

To keep my mind on my duties,

And since I’ve come to adore

A short, sweet dictator. . .

VERSE: “When tearing off a game of golf

I might make a play for the caddy,

But when I do, I don’t follow through

‘Cause my heart belongs to Vladdy. . .”

Her shapely tits, her naughty bits,

I like my Melania unclad-y,

But I am def ‘bout my BFF,

[‘Cause] my heart belongs to Vladdy. . .

My heart belongs to Vladdy, 

As a bear he’s big and he’s bad,

Yes, my heart belongs to Vladdy,

Vla-vla-vla-vla-vla-vla-vla-vla-vlad,

Yes, my heart belongs to Vladdy,

He’s really my kind o’ prez,

Yes, my heart belongs to Vladdy,

And I’ll do just whatever he says. . .

So here’s the score, if I start a war

My generals will all go “Egad-y!”

So I’m just sayin’, let’s dump Ukraine

‘Cause my heart belongs to Vladdy. . .

Here’s my best guess, my next address:

A Trump Tower in Leningrad-y,

Where I’ll co-star as the co-czar

‘Cause my heart belongs to Vladdy. . .

You can call me just an average Joe,

I don’t do anything just for show,

Life is too brief for pantomime

When a people do bleed,

Life is too brief to waste our time

On the things that we don’t need. . .

Each day brings new opportunities

To heal a nation brought to its knees,

To do whatever life asks of us,

Each in our healing role,

Do whatever life tasks of us

To revive our nation’s soul,

To Americans, let us pray

By the dawn’s early light,

We must try to begin each day

With the courage to unite. . .

Finding the path to a fresh start

Takes every ounce of a bold heart,

This I will promise you,

In conclusion, please let me say

Though not always right,

What I know is that in each day

There is always light. . .

And in the end I am just a man

Trying to make the most of life’s span.,

And yet, despite all the things I’ve lost,

I have come back for more, 

More of life that despite the cost

Is an always open door,

And yes, despite all the things I’ve lost

I will come back for more, 

More of life that despite the cost

Is an always open door. . .

Finding the path to a fresh start

Takes every ounce of a bold heart,

In conclusion, please let me say,

Though not always right,

What I know is that in each day

There is always light. . .

I named my boy for Thomas Paine,

And it was pain he finally knew,

Before that fateful day when his life came to cease

And brought him relief, brought my Tommy peace. . .

Life marched on, it always does,

And I remembered Thomas Paine,

And the pride I took in giving my infant boy

The name and the guide to lift tyranny’s stain. . .

So if you’re going to speak truth to power,

You must prepare to be assailed or worse,

You must prepare to give up those whom you love

When they’re taken by hearse. . .

These are the times that try men’s souls,

You once wrote bravely long ago,

And you took the stage to put your words on view,

And helped us to see and helped us to know. . .

I know you will protect my boy

Wherever now you both should be, 

And when we meet again in life’s final sphere,

We will rejoice for what we did here. . . 

So if you’re going to speak truth to power,

You must prepare to be assailed or worse,

You must prepare to give up those whom you love

When they’re taken by hearse. . .

We packed the bear spray, we packed the bats,

We packed the finest in MAGA hats,

We packed the stun guns, we packed the mace,

Now we’re on our merry way

To wave our flag today

And show

All the real Americans that Biden’s

A no-go,

Yes, we’re stoppin’ the steal, so here’s the deal:

We’re goin’ to a peaceful protest boogie!

(We’re givin’ all the Democrats a noogie. . .)

We packed the shields, we packed a spear,

We packed the latest in tactical gear.

We packed accordin’ to the list

Of all the things you need to bring

To get together as a crew, 

All the things you need to be prepared for

A to-do,

Yes, we’re stoppin’ the steal, so here’s the deal:

We’re goin’ to a peaceful protest boogie!

(We’re givin’ all the Democrats a noogie. . .)

We packed a gallows for Mike Pence

To help him front some common sense, 

And if we have to, we’ll see Mike swing,

“Hey, there, Mike! Of thee we sting!”

An insurrection ain’t our thing,

All we’re here for’s to clap and sing,

We’ll all be playin’ “Kumbayah”

Havin’ lots of healthy fun,

No one even brought a gun!

Here we are:

Tourists with the purest of intentions

To go far,

Yes, we’re stoppin’ the steal, so here’s the deal:

We’re goin’ to a peaceful protest boogie!

(We’re givin’ all the Democrats a noogie. . .)

CHORUS: Don’t hire someone who’s not qualified,

Don’t hire someone who’s never been inside,

When you are choosing, it’s better to decide:

Don’t hire someone who’s not qualified!

When you are seeking a new President,

Don’t hire someone who’s never heard of Lent, 

Who’s only planning for his emolument, 

Don’t hire someone as your President!

If he has all the militias awed,

If he’s suspected of substantial fraud,

If he’s protecting Big Coal by the lump,

Don’t hire someone whose name is Donald Trump!

CHORUS:

People thought that Donald Trump could be Presidential,

Turns out that his expertise was mainly residential,

He said, “I’m into building,” but not of coalitions, 

He’s just into gilding his net worth positions.

CHORUS:

Here is Don Junior with his manly beard,

But where are his brain cells? They’ve all disappeared!

Thinks shooting rhinos/RINOS will help him on the stump,

No doubt about it – the last name is Trump!

Here is Ivanka, a daughter’s sense of duty, 

She stoops to conquer with her glitzy beauty, 

Beware her makeup, her morals are a sump, 

No doubt about it – the last name is Trump!

Here is poor Eric, some compare to Fredo,

His world view is clearly made of Play-Doh,

Seems not to know his elbow from his rump, 

No doubt about it – the last name is Trump!

It’s the things you never do that don’t come back to haunt you,

Some jerk with a Twigger finger won’t come back to taunt you,

If you never choose to say, “Donald Trump, you’re hired,”

Then you’ll never have to say, “Donald Trump, you’re fired!”

CHORUS:

Joe says it’s all in the timing

When you are trying to lead,

When it’s a pump you are priming

To speak to a need,

When you are healing a nation,

You know you need to be so deft,

Making a Grand Central Station

Where right meets left. . .

Joe says it’s all about today

And what tomorrow can bring,

Joe says it’s all about hooray

When “Of thee we sing!”

Joe says that working together

And giving our hearts to our goals, then

It’s not a question of whether,

But only of when. . .

(BRIDGE) One step at a time, the best way

To climb a flight of stairs or go up

A mountain of resistance to

All of your best-made, best-laid plans

(Gay, straight or trans!). . .

Joe says, “The top of the mornin’!”

Offers some words to inspire,

So let’s be lovin’, not scornin’

And stoke freedom’s fire,

Here is the key calculation,

Always heedin’ what Joe says:

If we’re to heal the nation,

Do right by our Prez!

(CHORUS): Make Earth Green again! 

Make the skies so blue!

Make a pledge and then

It’s the best thing that you’ll ever do. . .

Dark days, dark clouds

Dark words, dark crowds,

All this darkness:

Can’t you see the planet’s a mess!

What’s wrong with this picture of distress?

Grave is the risk to the life that we cherish, 

Grave is the nature of our jeopardy,

Grave is the truth that our planet will perish

If we don’t do something ASAP!

What can I do? I am so small,

To make some change just like someone who’s standing tall,

If I stand up, will you stand up, too?

Working together’s a labor of virtue,

Working together’s a labor so pure,

Working together will not ever hurt you

If what you’re seeking is something to cure. . .

(CHORUS):

[Optional verse:

Each of us in our way is just a smidgeon

Of all of life universally vast.

But each of us can be a carrier pigeon

Bearing the future away from the past. . .]

Healing our planet’s a labor of virtue,

Healing our planet’s a labor so pure,

Healing our planet will not ever hurt you

If what you’re seeking is something to cure. . .

Make Earth Green again! 

Make the skies so blue!

Make a pledge and then

It’s the best thing that you’ll ever do. . .

© Duncan Christy

The Women of Kansas are making their voices heard

With a message so loud it’s a roar,

Questing for justice, so here’s the word:

Get with the program or get with the door!

The Women of Kansas are kicking some major ass,

Unpersuaded that men should decide

Who makes the call when a woman is pregnant,

What is permitted and what is denied,

The Women of Kansas! The Women of Kansas!

For centuries women have sweated the details

Of bearing the children, the hearth and the home,

Of looking away while their arrogant males

Voted themselves the right to roam,

For centuries women have played second fiddle,

Told to accept the short end of the stick,

Well, those days are through, 

So here is what’s new:

We rule with the brain not the dick!

“Bodily autonomy” is such a big phrase,

But what it means is that I will come first,

I will decide where and when to be with child,

I will decide when to let my womb burst!

The women of Kansas are showing what you can do

If you commit both your mind and your heart,

If your desire is to be gettin’ somewhere,

Y’ain’t gonna get there unless you start!

The women of Kansas are struttin’ their stuff,

When we work together it’s really enough,

Showing some good ole boys what’s what,

Kicking some butts, 

And yes their nuts!

The Women of Kansas! The Women of Kansas!

© Duncan Christy

CHORUS: Let the glory out, let the glory out!

It’s time to be discoverin’ just what it’s all about,

The voice of jubilation will tame the voice of doubt,

So open up that voicebox and let the glory out!

When you are makin’ music, when you are makin’ love,

When you are makin’ verses about the skies above,

When you are makin’ goodness and putting shame to rout,

Then you are makin’ somethin’ to let the glory out!

CHORUS: 

Do you believe in angels? Well, if you don’t, you should,

And that the Higher Power is working for your good,

As long as you do your part to chase away the doubt,

The angels will be comin’ to let the glory out!

CHORUS: 

Let God remove distractions from our daily path,

And keep us firmly pointed toward reward, not wrath,

And fill our hands with purpose that we might be the scout

To show our brothers and sisters to let the glory out!

CHORUS:

When God made Sunday mornin’, he said, “Let’s stay in bed.

And have pancakes and bacon and black coffee instead.

Instead of more creatin’, let’s stop and give a shout,

And celebrate what we’ve done to let the glory out!”

CHORUS:

There’s so much that’s right to place against the wrong,

There’s so much inspiration to keep the spirit strong,

The Bright against the Darkness will always be the bout

That we need to keep winning to let the glory out!

CHORUS: Let the glory out, let the glory out!

It’s time to be discoverin’ just what it’s all about,

The voice of jubilation will tame the voice of doubt,

So open up that voicebox and let the glory out!

© DUNCAN CHRISTY