Readers may recall how the shifting of the tectonic geopolitical plates in 2022 produced an outburst of creativity in the Naked Capitalism comments section, in the form of topical, pointed, and typically very funny new lyrics to popular songs. I knew the members of our commentariat had many skills, but I had no idea how many could give Tom Lehrer a run for his money. We would often have three a day. And it wound up being so many that as you can see below, we have a three volume songbook staring with Volume Zero.1
In the spirt that everyone can read Naked Capitalism for free, this offering is a fundraiser special. No having to send money to get the tote bag/DVD.
But we do hope that those who were planning to give but haven’t yet might take this as a wee reminder of the rich offerings in Naked Capitalism posts and in the comments section. If you haven’t yet gotten around to making a donation yet, please make a mini-detour to the Tip Jar and donate to support this community. Anything you can give, $5, $50, or $5,000, helps keep us fit and feisty.
We also hope you’ll circulate the songbooks widely. It’s a way great to introduce the site to new audiences. Some samples, with credits to Naked Capitalism lyricists:
Antifa, to the tune of “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash:
When Clarence was a young boy, his Granny told him, “Son
Only work for rich men if you aim to get along.
Doncha be a field hand—you be an Uncle Tom.
If you serve wealth and power—rich folks will grease your palm”Brunches with Cats, to the tune of “As Time Goes By” by Dooley Wilson:
You must remember this
A script is just a script
A lie is just a lie
The same old politics apply
As time goes bySardonia, to the tune of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby”:
Vladimir Putin
Picks up the shreds of agreements that nobody meant
Misrepresented
Sits in the Kremlin
Wondering if…there is anyone that he can trust
Words have been bustedAll the torn-up treaties
Why do we even try?
The songwriters are Antifa, Brunches with Cats, caucus99percenter, ChrisFromGA, G Rogersen Hart, GT, Hank Linderman, LawnDart, LifelongLib, Martin Oline, Sardonia, ThirtyOne, and Wukchumni.
Reader John Zelnicker started collecting them with the idea of producing a songbook. He helped clean up the text and sometimes added the name of the original song (some lyricists provided a link to a performance of the original but not its title). Another member of the community did additional review and formatting.
So thanks to all!
And again, I hope you’ll pass these songbooks on, and if you send the pdfs (as opposed to a link to this post), we hope you remember to link back to Naked Capitalism to make it easy for recipients to check out the site.
And please if you can: remember we are in the midst of our fundraiser. Your donations enable us to provide relevant, timely, incisive posts every day of the year, and create an environment for the witty, lively discussions that helped inspire these lyrics. So please proceed to the Tip Jar and give generously, and if you are able top up your donation to pay it forward on behalf of everyone here.
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1 The first book is Volume Zero because John started collecting the songs in September 2022, and called that Volume I. Antifa then volunteered to collect all songs from January 2022 to September 2022. John didn’t want to call that Volume II since the songs were posted at Naked Capitalism before Volume I so he called it Volume 0, now Zero. Lambert approved of zero because it is as a old computer joke, in that computer people start lists with “0”. I am told this issue is a source of decades-long conflict and agita.
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