Oh, who has heard the great commotion, motion, motion

All the country through?

It is the ball a-rolling on

For Tippecanoe and Tyler too. . .
'Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too'

That was a toe-tapping campaign song in 1840. It helped William Henry Harrison, aka Old Tippecanoe (don't ask), get elected. Unfortunately, he caught a very bad cold at the inauguration (memo to self, don't be macho, wear an overcoat), and died a month later. So they got Tyler, too, also unfortunately.

Shaun on Twitter asks:

Do other countries have a version of how both political parties in the US will play 'Born in the USA' at their events, a song about how the US is a miserable place that sucks?

I suggested he listen to the Wilhelmus and the Marseillaise. I also suggested the parties vary 'Born in the USA' with 'Living in Allentown'.

Campaign songs have always been a thing, and it's often been a case of 'you had to have been there.' Even people who were alive in the 1960s probably don't remember 'Hello, Lyndon' (to the tune of 'Hello, Dolly'). Or want to.

Most early campaign songs were parody lyrics set to popular tunes of the time. The 'Tippecanoe' song – which was enormously popular and helped Harrison get elected – was set to the tune of a popular minstrel song called 'Little Pigs'. I have no further information about it, but obviously people had less trouble about copyright infringement back then.

Some campaign songs became popular in their own right, such as George F Root's 'Battle Cry of Freedom', which spurred Lincoln on to victory. His other song, 'Lincoln and Liberty', set to the old tune of 'Rosin the Bow', is not remembered today.

Other songs have included 'Sidewalks of New York', which didn't do much for Al Smith, 'Happy Days Are Here Again', which was good for Franklin D Roosevelt, and 'I'm Just Wild About Harry' for Harry Truman. Although you have to wonder about that one. 'The heavenly blisses Of his kisses Fill me with ecstasy' just doesn't sound appropriate unless it was being sung by Bess.

John F Kennedy used 'High Hopes':

Just what makes that little old ant

Think he'll move that rubber tree plant

Anyone knows an ant can't

Move a rubber tree plant. . .

Seriously? Well, it's all about optimism, innit?

Nobody remembers 'Nixon Now' – don't ask me, I don't either. Everybody remembers his opponent McGovern's song, which was 'Bridge Over Troubled Water.' Nobody remembers George McGovern. (Something-something-legalise-marijuana?)

Jimmy Carter had a very folksy country bespoke song called 'Why Not the Best?'. Like Mr Carter himself, it's very sincere. Allegedly, there was also a campaign song called 'Ode to the Georgia Farmer', very appropriate. I cannot find it. This may be just as well: the tune was 'Goober Peas'. It's a toe-tapper from the US Civil War. Not exactly Beyoncé.

Ronald Reagan used 'California, Here I Come', and some of us wished he'd gone there. Instead, he went to Washington, and I stayed in Europe. George HW Bush used 'This Land Is Your Land'. Michael Dukakis had less luck with Neil Diamond's 'America', but man, what a great campaign song. Bill Clinton had Fleetwood Mac's 'Don't Stop'. In 1996, Bob Dole had an Isaac Hayes parody called 'Dole Man' – like the candidate himself, a blast from the past. Al Gore used 'You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet' (and, alas, we never did), while George W Bush musically claimed 'I Won't Back Down' (and, alas, he never did).

Vietnam veteran John Kerry marched in to the strains of Creedence's 'Fortunate Son', which could have been taken as a dig at George W Bush if you knew the ins-and-outs of their military records. He didn't win, but Barack Obama sailed to victory with a variety of tunes including Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered'. Mr Obama, possibly the first president since professional pianist Harry Truman to have a decent sense of music, still publishes his summer playlist from retirement. He's a musical influencer, is Mr Obama, even if he does wear dad jeans.

Bernie Sanders used 'Talkin' About a Revolution', which, besides being an amazing choice, possibly illustrates why many Americans don't want him in the White House. (Full disclosure: I do, but then I would have voted for Eugene V Debs.)

Hilary Clinton used 'Nine to Five', which is cool. Donald Trump used 'You Can't Always Get What You Want', which was rather on the nose, both in 2016 and 2020, even when the Rolling Stones begged him to stop. They also thought the choice was a bit odd. When the Stones threatened legal action, Trump stopped and chose another song instead – 'YMCA' by the Village People. Nobody has ever been able to understand that one, either. But then, in this election year, the Trump campaign has actually played 'My Heart Will Go On', the theme from Titanic. This led to a cease-and-desist order by Canadian singer Celine Dion and the comment, 'That song? Seriously?'

Kamala Harris is now fortunate with 'Freedom' by Beyoncé. Donald Trump's fans are still rocking to 'YMCA', which we're sure they think is about athletics. Long may it improve their spelling.

Campaign songs have come a long way from John Adams' campaign song in 1800, 'Adams and Liberty'. It's public domain, so I'm going to close with the first verse. Let me know if you can guess the tune, which I mentally imagine Zaphod and Ford singing together while repeatedly shaking hands.

Ye sons of Columbia, who bravely have fought,

For those rights, which unstained from your Sires had descended,

May you long taste the blessings your valour has brought,

And your sons reap the soil which their fathers defended.

'Mid the regin of mild Peace,

May your nation increase,

With the glory of Rome, and the wisdom of Greece;

And ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves,

While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.

As always, whoever wins the election will spend at least the next four years entering rooms to the tune of a song called Hail to the Chief. Lyrics by Walter Scott because why not.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

09.09.24 Front Page

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