WE ALL SOUND THE SAME
(Tom Paxton)

The candidates come and the candidates go, and we all sound the same
I'm Eeenie, I'm Meenie, I'm Minie, I'm Mo, and we all sound the same
We're having another election this year,
We're hiring the halls and we're pouring the beer
We'll tell you precisely what you long to hear,
And we all sound the same.

We're there every time you turn on your TV, and we all sound the same
Help stop unemployment, try voting for me! Yes, we all sound the same
We're kissing the babies and shaking the hands,
We're blowing balloons and we're leading the bands
We're hoping that nobody here understands
That we all sound the same.

[bridge]
We'll fearlessly take our positions when we know how you feel
We've taken the polls, and we know it's the safe thing to do
We've studied the trends for the feelings that we're allowed to feel
We'll be out there leading, about two or three steps behind you
[that's off of the record]
(spoken*) Mr. Chairman, my close friend, Mr. Lincoln, has a ... we all sound the same
(spoken) Introducing our new economic plan for the future of America...and we all sound the same
(spoken) And I have come before this august gathering to promise you that if I am elected, I will further discover misbeliefs in institution, constitution, and prosperity...and we all sound the same

[bridge]
We'll fearlessly take our positions when we know how you feel
We've taken our polls, and we know it's the safe thing to do
We've studied the trends for the feelings that we're about to feel
We'll be out there leading, about two or three steps behind you
[that's off of the record]

We're fast on our feet when the ball's in our court, and we all sound the same
We're earnestly hoping your memories are short, and we all sound the same
We've mastered the art of rhetorical curve,
We've practiced sincerity, screwed up our nerve
We're praying we don't get what we all deserve
And we all sound the same

We're praying we don't get what we all deserve
And we all sound the same


Album: The Paxton Report, 1980

*the spoken parts are supposed to be political babbling, and it's very hard to make out exactly what's said.

Backup vocals on this album were by Anne Hills-Burda, Cindy Mangsen, Susan Fletcher, Jan Overstreet, and Bob Gibson - interesting list, isn't it? Hills and Mangsen also sang background on the One Million Lawyers and Other Disasters CD (1985), which was produced by Bob Gibson.

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OK, but now I'm not satisfied, because I can't remember that song I heard on the freeway. I thought it was McCutcheon, but it could have been Paxton - a song about the voices on the television, telling us the same lies they told us four years ago.