Lyr Add: Tariff on the Brain

Subject: Lyr Add: Tariff on the Brain
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 23 Dec 24 - 01:01 PM

TARIFF ON THE BRAIN

A little thing that might be useful right now. It comes out of the Farmers' Alliance movement of the 1870s-1890s. The second verse is about Grover Cleveland and the Free Silver movement, but you can perhaps skip that one. "Goldbugs" are those who supported the gold standard (and who were right, actually, because silver at that time wasn't worth 16:1, but that's probably too academic...).

WORDS: author unknown
MUSIC: "Brennan on the Moor"

Come all you honest people whoever you may be
And help the honest workingmen resist monopoly
'Tis headed by the brokers, they deal in bonds and stocks,
They cite us to the tariff while they're getting in their knocks.

CHORUS:
Tariff on the brain!
Tariff on the brain!
Look out for politicians
Who have tariff on the brain.

The goldbugs, knowing Grover to their scheming would agree,
They put him in the White House, their agent there to be,
They robbed us of our silver and grabbed up all our gold;
They cite us to the tariff and leave us in the cold.

They've a scheme to throttle labor and monopolize the land,
To make of us a servile herd while they are rich and grand,
Their schemes cause want and hunger, and they may get foiled perhaps,
Our will our fair Columbia by their greediness collapse?

From the (Nebraska) Alliance-Independent, October 26, 1893, talking about the Panic of 1893 (which was caused largely by Free Silver, but they hadn't figured that out yet).

For other songs of the same movement, see https://www.lincolnlibraries.org/media/jkcp41m0/farmers1.pdf