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Candidates' Tunes Hit A Few Sour Notes

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By PAUL FARHI, The Washington Post

Published: January 21, 2008

If we can tell anything about the presidential candidates from their campaign theme music, it may be this: They (or perhaps their aides) aren't paying much attention to the lyrics. If they were, they might change their tune.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, for example, whips up supporters at rallies with ear-blasting recordings of Tom Petty's "American Girl" and Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Takin' Care of Business," among others. The title of the first song suggests a kind of patriotic autobiography. The second is supposed to say something about Clinton's can-do style.

Except that "Takin' Care of Business" is actually about NOT taking care of business. The '70s rock number (which President Bush also used in his 2004 campaign) is from a slacker's point of view:

"People see you having fun / Just a-lying in the sun / Tell them that you like it this way."

The lyrics go on to add:

"It's the work that we avoid / And we're all self-employed / We love to work at nothing all day."

"American Girl" is about an American girl, all right. But it's not about her patriotism. It's about the shattering of her romantic dreams:

"And for one desperate moment there / He crept back in her memory / God, it's so painful / Something that's so close / And still so far out of reach."

Clinton held a much-publicized online campaign song contest last year, but the winner - Celine Dion's "You and I" - is now little used by the campaign. Instead, Clinton's rallies have sometimes featured Dolly Parton's peppy "9 to 5," which contains the line, "I swear sometimes that man is out to get me."

Song Selectors Better Think

Some of Clinton's rivals aren't much more attentive about their selections. Sen. Barack Obama prefers feel-good, Motown-era, baby boomer-friendly pop ("Higher and Higher," "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," etc.). But his musical messages can be mixed, too. Obama's campaign often plays Aretha Franklin's "Think," which superficially makes sense, especially with its rousing refrain ("Oh, freedom ... yeah, freedom!"). But "Think" isn't really about freedom. It's a defiant warning to a straying lover: "You better think - think about what you're trying to do to me."

Mitt Romney has strayed deeper into romantic territory than he might have wanted to go, too. Romney has used Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" as his entrance music to convey his can-do style - in other words, less talk, more action. But Romney's supporters might just want to ignore the part of the song where Elvis tells his paramour, "Close your mouth and ... satisfy me, baby."

And what to make of John Edwards' use of "Pride (In the Name of Love)," the U2 song that references Jesus Christ ("One man betrayed with a kiss") and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. ("Early morning, April 4 / Shot rings out in the Memphis sky ..."). Are Edwards' people making a presumptuous comparison?

As a general rule, campaign songs aren't what they used to be. For one thing, they used to be original, or at least semi-original (among the current field of candidates, supporters of Rep. Ron Paul seem to be the most active in producing original songs about their man, including such rockers as "Critical to Get Political"). Not so long ago, campaigns commissioned their own jingles, though sometimes this simply meant retrofitting new lyrics to familiar music.

Clinton and Obama's selections reflect the more recent trend of employing tunes that are already well-known - and generally are as inoffensive and broadly acceptable as possible. Edgy they aren't.

Several Republicans this year have played Lee Greenwood's stirring and patriotic "God Bless the U.S.A.," which has practically become the theme song of the Republican Party; it was a big hit in the campaigns of President Reagan (1984) and the first President Bush (1988). This year, however, it may have new resonance for Republicans, with its "proud to be an American" refrain echoing the party's immigration-reform sentiment.

Democrats, meanwhile, seem to be countering with John Mellencamp's equally stirring and patriotic "This Is Our Country," a song made inescapable by commercials for Chevy trucks.

But even seemingly "safe" choices can cause trouble.

The Boss' Feedback

The most famously misread song may have been Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." During his 1984 re-election campaign, Reagan praised Springsteen's "message of hope" during a stop in New Jersey. It wasn't clear which song, or songs, Reagan meant (and there's no record of Reagan's campaign playing the song), but many assumed he was referring to "Born," the title track of Springsteen's best-selling album at the time. The song is about the opposite of hope; it's the anguished cry of a Vietnam veteran, returning home to bleak prospects:

"I'm 10 years burning down the road / Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go".

Springsteen later expressed irritation at being made an implicit part of Reagan's re-election rhetoric.

For sheer musical lameness, the prize may go to Robert Dole's campaign, which adapted the classic Sam & Dave tune, "Soul Man," during his 1996 presidential run. It became "Dole Man." Then it disappeared, after the songwriters took issue with the alteration.

Although campaigns don't need permission to use a pop song, artists have objected to the unauthorized use of their work on political grounds. President Bush's campaigns have had to pull at least four songs over two election cycles amid complaints. During his 2000 campaign, Petty, Mellencamp and Sting complained about Bush's playing of, respectively, "I Won't Back Down," "R.O.C.K. in the USA" and "Brand New Day" (which was used by Al Gore's 2000 campaign without objection).

Then, in 2004, Bush's re-election campaign had to stop playing "Still the One," the 1970s hit by Orleans, after co-writer and singer John Hall objected. Hall, a Democrat from New York, won his own race for Congress in 2006 after singing a duet of "Still" with Stephen Colbert on TV's "The Colbert Report."

Rudy Giuliani has shown up at public events, including at least once last year, accompanied by "Rudie Can't Fail," a song about shiftless young people by British rockers the Clash. Its chorus refers to "drinking brew for breakfast."

Lately, Giuliani has retreated to safer musical territory: a little Alan Jackson, a little Rascal Flatts and some opera.

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