Subject: RE: Joe Glazer - Ballads for Ballots
From:
Thomas Stern
Date: 02 Mar 24 - 10:48 PM
BALANCE THE BUDGET
in the 1956 album some verses in LOVE THAT TEAM refer to
George Magoffin Humphrey (Eisenhower's secretary of the treasury) including the phrase "balance the budget' and "trickle down".
The idea further developed in the 1960 and 1984 versions.
1956 LOVE THAT TEAM
now the government's big And it keeps them busy,
they can't run it themselves or they soon get dizzy,
they got a lot of fellers kind of helping them out,
who know what wall street's all about.
the number one helper in the whole shebang
is a fellow named Humphrey the leader of the gang,
I don't mean Hubert Minnesota's pride and joy,
I mean trickle down George the bankers Boy.
George says we gotta balance the budget,
now when he says we he means you,
and me
but not old George
now trickle down George he's in charge of the taxes,
the big boy in the Washington Wall Street axis
he wouldn't cut the taxes for you and me,
he says that's irresponsibility.
but for the big fat cats he swings his axe
biff bang whoosh down comes their tax
don't worry brother,
you would soak up a couple of drops,
when she trickles down.
------
BALANCE THE BUDGET - 1960
by Joe Glazer; Tune - So Long, It's Been Good To Know You
I went down to Washington one sunny day,
to hear what the Congress and Ike had to say,
I came in the winter, I stayed through the spring,
And wherever I went I heard only one thing--
CHORUS
We must balance, balance the budget,
Balance, balance the budget,
Balance, balance the budget,
Or else we will surely be ruined.
We need jobs, housing, schools, civil rights, TVA's
The minimum wage law we know we must raise,
The job is tremendous, the problems severe,
Yet, from the White House, there's one song we hear --
The Soviet Union is marching ahead,
The fate of the world barely hangs by a thread,
Africa, Asia, the world is aflame,
Yet from the White House the tune is the same --
I'm fearful that one day the big bombs will fall,
They'll blow up the earth, they will kill one and all,
and as Capitol Hill whizzes by in he sky,
If you listen closely, you'll hear that old cry --
When Ike and Dick Nixon cross that Great Divide,
They'll meet Hoover and Mellon on the other side,
And as they're shooting the duck and the heavenly quail,
They'll join in a song which will never grow stale --
-------
BALANCE THE BUDGET - 1984
Lyrics: Joe Glazer and Joe Ames
Tune: So Long, It's Been Good to Know You
When Ronnie first ran for the Presidency
He said the budget's my number one priority.
If you elect me and my Reaganite crew
This is the very first thing I will do.
I will balance, balance the budget,
Balance, balance the budget,
Balance, I will balance the budget,
The very first thing I will do.
So I voted for Ronnie, I said, "He's my man."
He'll cur down the deficit, he's got a plan.
Goodbye to big spenders, we'll see them no more,
He'll balance the budget before '84.
He will balance, balance the budget,
Balance, balance the budget,
Balance, he will balance the budget,
He'll do it before '84.
Wel, Ronnie swung hard with his woodcutter's ax.
He chopped down each fat cat's income tax
He pushed defense spending right up to the moon,
The deficit soared byt he sang the same tune.
We must balance, balance the budget,
Balance, balance the budget,
Balance, we must balance the budget,
He never stopped singing that tune.
Now, two hundred billion's a lot of red ink,
It's pushed the economy right to the brink,
Our children and their children will have to pay,
But Ronnie just smiles and continues to say,
We must balance, balance the budget,
Balance, balance the budget,
Balance, we must balance the budget,
He smiles and continues to say.
Ron claims that he's trying, but each time he tries,
The national debt just continues to rise,
I don't know his problem but here's how it looks,
I think his friend Bonzo is keeping the books.
We must balance, balance the budget,
Balance, balance the budget,
Balance, we must balance the budget,
But Bonzo is keeping the books.
Thomas.
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sj
