top of page

Daily Lyric: IT’S A DEMOCRACY

Freedom of speech:

Democracy is the freedom to say you don’t like democracy, yeah

Freedom of the press:

What the papers say is absolutely right and everybody else is just fascist racist, yeah

Freedom of religion:

Can’t I even pray in peace without somebody screaming about black-hatted zealots?

Freedom to criticize:

But you gotta know where to draw the line between earnest opposition and just plain being jealous

It’s a democracy

Yeah, it’s a free country

Liberty and freedom

That’s what it’s all about

It’s a democracy

Justice and equality

We can’t do without

In our society

Equal opportunity:

Just try to get a job if you didn’t join the forced labor union, yeah

Equal representation:

Let the lefties in and keep the righties out, yeah

Equality in housing:

And pay three times the price if you don’t toe the party line

Equal rights for all:

Raise hell about your sex life and just see where you’ll wind up in line

They’re yelling FIRE! In a crowded theater

They’re putting the wrong people in jail

When our soldiers are fighting, they call ‘em imperialists

Ain’t it a wonder the operation failed?!?

The right to peaceable assembly:

I’m stuck in the middle and both sides are throwing stones, yeah

The right to bear arms:

But if I’m ever caught using them it’s twenty five to life, yeah

The right to petition:

I fill out a form and it goes from office to office and nothing gets done

The right to remain silent:

Of all the rights I have I think that’s the best one

Speak your piece as much as you want

But you gotta let me have just as much say

Expression from all without harassment or taunts

It’s the only way to go in this democratic way

It’s a democracy

Yeah it’s a free country

Liberty and freedom

That’s what it’s all about

It’s a democracy

Justice and equality

We can’t do without

In our society

©2023 The Hesh Inc.

"Democracy in red, White, and Blue" - original AI art by The Hesh Inc.
Democracy in action.

Bet you had no idea I've written political songs! I'm generally not a political songwriter but sometimes, when you're surrounded by the bullshit, there's no other way to blow off steam than to write a song about it.

This song is more about Israeli democracy rather than US democracy, although there is a bit of the American variant thrown in; some of the lines can really apply to both countries. And political correctness is a scourge common to both countries.

I wrote it in 1986, while I was doing my stint in the IDF. What was actually going on at the time politically didn't have a direct bearing on what I was writing; it wasn't a general-election year. But every day I'd read about some shenanigans or others that would make my blood pressure rise.

Musically, it has a groove similar to Funkadelic's "One Nation Under a Groove" and the J. Geils Band's "Flamethrower." Never recorded.

1 view0 comments

Comments


  • Spotify
  • Bandcamp
  • Amazon
  • iTunes
  • Instagram
  • Flickr
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
bottom of page