General Sanders taking stock of his options...
Virgil Caine is the name, and I served on the Sander’s campaign
‘Till A.P.’s call came and they tore up the nomination again
In the spring of ‘16, we were young, a well run machine
By June the 7th, Sacremento had fell, it's a day I wish would go to hell
The night they drove old Bernie down, and the phones were ringing
The night they drove old Bernie down, and the media were singin' they went
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Back with my spouse in D.C. when one day she e-mailed to me
On the private server of Hillary, there goes Nina Turner
Now I don't mind hittin’ the street, and I don't care if it’s tough on my feet
It used to be ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest,
But now it seems it all goes to the very best
The night they drove old Bernie down, and the phones were ringing
The night they drove old Bernie down, and the media were singin' they went
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Like my wife before me, I will work the polls
Like my comrade beside me, we work revolutionary goals
He was just eighteen, proud and brave, but the DNC laid him in his grave (figuratively)
I swear on the grave of Eugene V. Debs, You can't raise a Party up when it’s run by crooked Reps.
The night they drove old Bernie down, and the phones were ringing
The night they drove old Bernie down, and the media were singin' they went
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
The night they drove old Bernie down, and the phones were ringing
The night they drove old Bernie down, and the media were singin' they went
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
This is not snark, GBCW, nor spiking the football. I mean no disrespect to any Clinton or Sanders supporters. There is no ulterior motive in trying to tie anyone to anything unseemly. This was a tough election and probably brutal for someone who gave it everything to come out on the short end when the stakes are so high.
Although I voted for the other candidate, I could see the passion on the other side and I respected the majority of ideas Sanders championed. I try not to demonize anyone and try to empathize with all. Almost all of us have been there before with another candidate or campaign.
So, this is my feeble attempt at trying to capture emotionally what I would imagine I would have felt if I was a decade or three younger and got on the Bernie Bandwagon. I tried to make it a little whimsical to not make it too maudlin.
The end of the Sanders campaign requires a proper requiem and this may be far from it.
However, I can’t think of any other song that captures the emotional and psychological gut punch of waking up in a world that you no longer recognize as your own, but you still see totems and people you still cherish and hold in the highest honor. Levon Helm’s singing is not just evoking postbellum or even antebellum, but almost postdiluvian on this brave new world he now lives but ruminating on the cost and the worth of it.
If you want something more defiant a rewrite of The Dead Milmen could be more cathartic.
Punk Rock Bern
(sample lyrics)
We voted for Elridge Cleaver, they said, "He’s not on the ballot"
We said, "If you don't have Elridge Cleaver, we’ll sic on you Jeff Weaver"
We'll make Debbie Wass squirm, just you and me, punk rock Bern
You can take it, and I’ll run...
