Potus Geeks Summer Reruns: James K. Polk by They Might Be Giants
[Originally posted on August 1, 2015 as part of our Presidents in Parody series.]
August is my favorite month. It's a month of vacation for me, and a month when I relax and don't take life (or myself) too seriously. This has inspired a theme for this community for August 2015: Presidents in Parody. Besides posting about the usual birthdays and deathdays for Presidents (there aren't many of either in August), I'll post about various works of fiction, songs, movies, tv shows and other pop culture about Presidents. The presidents won't be fictional, they'll be real, though some of the movies, songs and books they appear in will be fiction. For example I don't think Abraham Lincoln really ever fought vampires, and William Howard Taft didn't really return in 2012 to run for President (though author Jason Heller almost convinced me that he did.)
So let's begin this month's theme with a look at the 1996 song "James K. Polk" by the American alternative group They Might Be Giants or TMBG for short. They are an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. The two began as a duo, often accompanied by a drum machine, but in the early 1990s, TMBG expanded to include a real band made up of Marty Beller, Dan Miller, and Danny Weinkauf. The group became known for an unconventional and experimental style of alternative music. Over their career, they have transitioned from a couple of quirky weirdos into a band that has released 17 studio albums and also performed the theme music for several television programs and films. The band has won two Grammy Awards, one in 2002 for their song "Boss of Me", which served as the theme to the Fox TV show Malcolm in the Middle.
In 1996 the band released its sixth studio album, through Elektra Records, called Factory Showroom. Track number 10 is a little ditty called James K. Polk. Though entertaining and catchy to listen to, the song is educational too because it gives the Reader's Digest version of the life of the 11th President, beginning with how Polk came out of nowhere as a "Dark Horse" candidate to win the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 1844 and the Presidency. It also describes how Polk "met his every goal", something some historians argue is a myth, but don't say that to a Polkaholic.
The song has three verses. Its lyrics go as follows:
In 1844, the Democrats were split
The three nominees for the presidential candidate
Were Martin Van Buren, a former president and an abolitionist
James Buchanan, a moderate
Louis Cass, a general and expansionist
From Nashville came a dark horse riding up
He was James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump
Austere, severe, he held few people dear
His oratory filled his foes with fear
The factions soon agreed
He's just the man we need
To bring about victory
Fulfill our manifest destiny
And annex the land the Mexicans command
And when the votes were cast the winner was
Mister James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump
In four short years he met his every goal
He seized the whole southwest from Mexico
Made sure the tariffs fell
And made the English sell the Oregon territory
He built an independent treasury
Having done all this he sought no second term
But precious few have mourned the passing of
Mister James K. Polk, our eleventh president
Young Hickory, Napoleon of the Stump
And if you haven't heard it and are wondering how it goes, here's a video someone made of the song, performed by TMBG:
John Linnell told Rumpus Magazine in 1992:
"This song was written with childhood friend Mr. Matthew Hill. Originally featured as a b-side, its legacy has grown with hardcore TMBG fans, and now has been resurrected in full hi-fi for Factory Showroom. The lyrics are as factual as we could make them with the reference books handy. James Knox Polk, the 11th President of the U.S., was a dark horse candidate who unexpectedly won the Democratic nomination and the election based on his popularity in the South with his stated goal of annexing Texas, the Southwest, and the Oregon Territories. Once in office he fanned the flames of dispute between the U.S. and Mexico to achieve part of this aim. (The Mexican War is still commemorated in the expression 'Remember the Alamo!') Personally, we find his expansionist policies ruthless and unscrupulous, but the existence of the Western U.S. is largely due to him. The spooky sound halfway into this recording is a 'singing saw,' an actual metal saw stroked with a bow by Mr. Julian Koster."
One of the inspirations for the song is "The Battle of New Orleans", a song most often associated with Johnny Horton. Some history buffs have criticized some inaccuracies in the song. For example, they say that it isn't really accurate to describe Martin van Buren as an "abolitionist". Rather, he was a "Free Soiler", someone who believed that slavery should not be allowed to expand. It is also not technically correct to say that Oregon was purchased during the Polk administration, but rather that it was divided between the US and Great Britain by the Oregon Treaty of 1846.
On the commentary for the video of another TMBG song, Linnell claims to be somehow related to Polk, but it is unclear how. Once while performing the song in Tucson, Linnell told a story about how Tucson was the only part not seized by James K. Polk. During the band's performance ofthe song, there were some lyrics added: "And annex the lands the Mexicans command - except for Tucson!"
During live shows, cannons often fire colorful confetti into the audience at the end of the line "Lewis Cass, a general and expansionist". On an NPR performance, Linnell sang a version that corrected a couple of factual errors. It changed Polk's action from building to restoring an independent treasury and it described James Buchanan as a "waffler" instead of a moderate. Rolling Stone named the song as the number 10 "Weirdest Shout-Out" in a song. In more presidential antics, the band also sings a version of William Henry Harrison's 1840 campaign song "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too".
If you like your music light and quirky then you should definitely consider adding some TMBG to your playlist. Their 1989 album Flood is a great place to start.
[Edit: if you dispute the premise that Polk "met his every goal", you're not alone. Author Tom Chaffin makes the case for the debunking of this myth in his book Met His Every Goal: James K. Polk and the Legends of Manifest Destiny, reviewed in this community here.
August is my favorite month. It's a month of vacation for me, and a month when I relax and don't take life (or myself) too seriously. This has inspired a theme for this community for August 2015: Presidents in Parody. Besides posting about the usual birthdays and deathdays for Presidents (there aren't many of either in August), I'll post about various works of fiction, songs, movies, tv shows and other pop culture about Presidents. The presidents won't be fictional, they'll be real, though some of the movies, songs and books they appear in will be fiction. For example I don't think Abraham Lincoln really ever fought vampires, and William Howard Taft didn't really return in 2012 to run for President (though author Jason Heller almost convinced me that he did.)
So let's begin this month's theme with a look at the 1996 song "James K. Polk" by the American alternative group They Might Be Giants or TMBG for short. They are an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. The two began as a duo, often accompanied by a drum machine, but in the early 1990s, TMBG expanded to include a real band made up of Marty Beller, Dan Miller, and Danny Weinkauf. The group became known for an unconventional and experimental style of alternative music. Over their career, they have transitioned from a couple of quirky weirdos into a band that has released 17 studio albums and also performed the theme music for several television programs and films. The band has won two Grammy Awards, one in 2002 for their song "Boss of Me", which served as the theme to the Fox TV show Malcolm in the Middle.
In 1996 the band released its sixth studio album, through Elektra Records, called Factory Showroom. Track number 10 is a little ditty called James K. Polk. Though entertaining and catchy to listen to, the song is educational too because it gives the Reader's Digest version of the life of the 11th President, beginning with how Polk came out of nowhere as a "Dark Horse" candidate to win the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 1844 and the Presidency. It also describes how Polk "met his every goal", something some historians argue is a myth, but don't say that to a Polkaholic.
The song has three verses. Its lyrics go as follows:
In 1844, the Democrats were split
The three nominees for the presidential candidate
Were Martin Van Buren, a former president and an abolitionist
James Buchanan, a moderate
Louis Cass, a general and expansionist
From Nashville came a dark horse riding up
He was James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump
Austere, severe, he held few people dear
His oratory filled his foes with fear
The factions soon agreed
He's just the man we need
To bring about victory
Fulfill our manifest destiny
And annex the land the Mexicans command
And when the votes were cast the winner was
Mister James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump
In four short years he met his every goal
He seized the whole southwest from Mexico
Made sure the tariffs fell
And made the English sell the Oregon territory
He built an independent treasury
Having done all this he sought no second term
But precious few have mourned the passing of
Mister James K. Polk, our eleventh president
Young Hickory, Napoleon of the Stump
And if you haven't heard it and are wondering how it goes, here's a video someone made of the song, performed by TMBG:
John Linnell told Rumpus Magazine in 1992:
"This song was written with childhood friend Mr. Matthew Hill. Originally featured as a b-side, its legacy has grown with hardcore TMBG fans, and now has been resurrected in full hi-fi for Factory Showroom. The lyrics are as factual as we could make them with the reference books handy. James Knox Polk, the 11th President of the U.S., was a dark horse candidate who unexpectedly won the Democratic nomination and the election based on his popularity in the South with his stated goal of annexing Texas, the Southwest, and the Oregon Territories. Once in office he fanned the flames of dispute between the U.S. and Mexico to achieve part of this aim. (The Mexican War is still commemorated in the expression 'Remember the Alamo!') Personally, we find his expansionist policies ruthless and unscrupulous, but the existence of the Western U.S. is largely due to him. The spooky sound halfway into this recording is a 'singing saw,' an actual metal saw stroked with a bow by Mr. Julian Koster."
One of the inspirations for the song is "The Battle of New Orleans", a song most often associated with Johnny Horton. Some history buffs have criticized some inaccuracies in the song. For example, they say that it isn't really accurate to describe Martin van Buren as an "abolitionist". Rather, he was a "Free Soiler", someone who believed that slavery should not be allowed to expand. It is also not technically correct to say that Oregon was purchased during the Polk administration, but rather that it was divided between the US and Great Britain by the Oregon Treaty of 1846.
On the commentary for the video of another TMBG song, Linnell claims to be somehow related to Polk, but it is unclear how. Once while performing the song in Tucson, Linnell told a story about how Tucson was the only part not seized by James K. Polk. During the band's performance ofthe song, there were some lyrics added: "And annex the lands the Mexicans command - except for Tucson!"
During live shows, cannons often fire colorful confetti into the audience at the end of the line "Lewis Cass, a general and expansionist". On an NPR performance, Linnell sang a version that corrected a couple of factual errors. It changed Polk's action from building to restoring an independent treasury and it described James Buchanan as a "waffler" instead of a moderate. Rolling Stone named the song as the number 10 "Weirdest Shout-Out" in a song. In more presidential antics, the band also sings a version of William Henry Harrison's 1840 campaign song "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too".
If you like your music light and quirky then you should definitely consider adding some TMBG to your playlist. Their 1989 album Flood is a great place to start.
[Edit: if you dispute the premise that Polk "met his every goal", you're not alone. Author Tom Chaffin makes the case for the debunking of this myth in his book Met His Every Goal: James K. Polk and the Legends of Manifest Destiny, reviewed in this community here.