Despite the fact that I’m only 35, I’m an old folkie at heart; I suppose that’s what comes of growing up with a father who started at Stanford in the first heat of the Kingston Trio’s success. I remember, for instance, a 1983 folk music reunion concert that we taped while we were living down in Texas—I remember it quite well, in fact, having rewatched it more times than I can count. One of my favorite songs from that concert, one by Tom Paxton, has been coming back to me as once again eerily appropriate:
I Am Changing My Name to Chrysler
Oh, the price of gold is rising out of sight,
And the dollar is in sorry shape tonight;
What the dollar used to get us
Now won’t get a head of lettuce—
No, the economic forecast isn’t bright.
But amidst the clouds a spot is shining grey;
I begin to glimpse a new and better way.
And I’ve demised a plan of action,
Worked it down to the last fraction,
And I’m going into action here today.Chorus:
I am changing my name to Chrysler;
I am going down to Washington D.C.
I will tell some power broker
What they did for Iacocca
Will be perfectly acceptable to me.
I am changing my name to Chrysler;
I am headed for that great receiving line.
So when they hand a million grand out,
I’ll be standing with my hand out,
Yes sir—I’ll get mine.When my creditors come screaming for their dough,
I’ll be proud to tell them all where they can go.
They won’t need to scream and holler—
They’ll be paid to the last dollar
Where the endless streams of money seem to flow.
I’ll be glad to tell them all what they can do;
It’s a matter of a simple form or two.
It’s not just renumeration—it’s a liberal education;
Aren’t you kind of glad that I’m in debt to you?Chorus
Since the first amphibian crawled out of the slime,
We’ve been struggling in an unrelenting climb;
We were hardly up and walking before money started talking,
And it said that failure is an awful crime.
It’s been that way a millenium or two,
But now it seems there is a different point of view.
If you’re a corporate Titanic and your failure is gigantic,
Down in Congress there’s a safety net for you.Chorus
Words and music: Tom Paxton
©1980 Accabonac Music (ASCAP)