Well, let's toss out another song. My favorite criteria for inclusion in this book are: good poetry, general relevance, local color, organizing relevance, historical relevance, familiar tune or parody of familiar song. I generally prefer humor rather than despair. I love background details, including clippings.

Here's another example:

LOVE ME, I'M YOUR LANDLORD
(Written by Dale Cohen & Hugh McGuinness © 1981)
Tenant organizers from the university town of Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tune: parody of Love Me, I'm a Liberal by Phil Oches

I remember when I was a tenant,
I remember the strife and the pain;
I swore to reform the system,
That produced such ill-gotten gain,
So now that I'm your landlord,
You've no reason left to complain –
So, love me, love me, love me,
I'm your landlord!

I helped form the first tenants union,
For that I should get a gold star;
I love each one of my tenants,
I even lend them my car;
But this talk about rent control,
That's going a bit too far...(as above)

I cried when my tenants had no heat,
Tears ran down my spine;
I mourned when that old furnace broke down,
As though I'd lost a grandparent of mine;
But, you know, they had it coming,
When they were late with the rent last time...

I cheered when old Epstein was rent struck,
My faith in the system restored;
And I'm glad that Trony went bankrupt,
They charged rents no one could afford,
And I love each one of my tenants,
But I hope that they don't move next door...

Oh, those people who work for McKinley,
Should all hang their heads in shame;
I don't understand how their minds work –
Property maintenance is part of the game;
But if you ask me to roll back my rents,
I'll have the cops take down your name...

New or old contributions greatly appreciated.