Originally posted 2008-11-05 22:58:51.
By Jim Fusco:
What a happy day it is here at the Fusco-Moore Experience (home of FMP Studios). We were both (along with all of my friends and family) pulling for Barack Obama to win the Presidential election. We watched every minute of it and I didn’t stop watching until about 2 am.
It was a great night for the country because it was actually a decisive victory- a true electoral landslide. Yes, the popular vote was closer, but as the Republicans proved in 2000, the country-wide popular vote means nothing in a presidential election.
So, tonight, my Laptop Sessions Original Wednesday video had to be something extra-special. I actually sat down and wrote a new song just for the occasion- talk about a turnaround! I had the tune to the verse of this song for a few weeks now, but never did anything with it. I’m not going to explain the words of the song or what it’s about. You’ll have to deduce that answer on your own. Oh, and one tidbit- this actually ISN’T going to be a track off of my upcoming album, “Halfway There” that’s already been mixed and mastered. So, you get an extra-special bonus with this song tonight!
I will say that I’m pretty proud of this video. It took me many takes to get right, mostly because I didn’t know all the words yet! But, the song’s structure is cool- the “chorus” is actually more of a “tag” to the song, making the bridge more of the chorus, if that makes sense. I wanted to write a topical song that wasn’t overtly so. I think, given the day on which it’s being posted, that the song fits into the political landscape well. But, I hope that people can listen to it at different times of the year (without knowing what day I wrote it) and still understand the sentiments I’m trying to get across.
I’ll say this: one of my big hopes for America is UNITY. It’s about time after so many years of being truly divided. Say what you will about political views, etc, but Barack Obama is the first president in over 20 years to get elected by a true MAJORITY of American voters (over 50%). That says something very powerful to me, and I hope he can bring this country together and help to heal the divides of politics, racism, and religion. Good night, America- I hope you’ll join me in rejoicing as we usher in a new era for the United States.
Related posts:
- The Laptop Sessions Original Wednesday: “Christmas Evening” (Jim Fusco original acoustic song)
- “Worlds Apart” (Original Wednesday Song by Co-Songwriter Jim Fusco) – The Laptop Sessions
- “Don’t Give Up” (Jim Fusco Original Acoustic Rock Song) – The Laptop Sessions
- “Tuning In” (Original Song by Jim Fusco) – The Laptop Sessions
This is one in a series of acoustic cover songs, original music, and free mp3 downloads here on the Laptop Sessions Music Video Blog.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I love your music, Jim, but not this song. I’m happy for you that your guy won, but he’s not my guy and my business is going to suffer greatly because of his election. When you write a song with a partisan political message it’s a virtual certainty that half your listeners will love it and the other half will hate it. He certainly hasn’t “won me over” and if I hear the word “change” again I think I’m gonna puke. I don’t mean to be overly critical, just trying to point out what the inevitable reactions will be to a partisan lyric like this. Since you’re young and the majority of your listeners are probably young, the “half/half” rule probably doesn’t apply in this case. As far as the wider audience goes, though, don’t forget that nearly half the electorate voted against this guy and is not at all looking forward to his presidency.
Miami Dan
November 7th, 2008 at 12:49 am
Dan,
Believe it or not, I actually thank you for the comment. If going controversial gets us some activity on this site, then that’s great.
But, that’s not why I wrote the song. Please read this, as I think it’ll help you to understand what I was trying to say.
I wrote the song to the people who voted for McCain. I wrote it to them, saying that the election is now over. There’s nothing (within any decent reason) that anyone can do about it. It was a decisive victory. No recounts.
We just have to accept the fact that life moves on and that the country needs to stand unified.
Dan, I was as angry as you are now back in 2004 when Bush got re-elected. But, I had to swallow it and go on. I wasn’t looking forward to it, either.
But the fact is that now, after the Republicans had eight years (and a lot of bad luck) to get it right. It’s time for someone else to try their hand. The Democrats are not perfect in any way, shape, or form, don’t get me wrong. But, it’s their turn.
And honestly, a President doesn’t even end up doing as much as everyone thinks he’s going to do once he gets elected. There are many checks and balances, and even though the Democrats won a large majority in the House and Senate, there are a lot of Democrats (including that IDIOT phony Joe Lieberman) that don’t agree with the more “left-wing” policies Obama brings to the table.
All I have to say is: the country had to suffer through EIGHT long years of George Bush. He survived and so did the rest of us in the country. (Unless you count the poor people killed in 9/11- good thing we had a Republican President so bent on national security then) I can only pray to everything good in the world that the opposition to Obama doesn’t allow themselves to do anything they and the rest of the entire world (who chose Obama 2-1 over McCain) will regret.
~ Connecticut Jim
November 7th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Jim,
You’ll get no argument from me that the Bush administration was largely a disaster. Likewise, you’ll get no argument from me that the Republican Party hasn’t fielded a viable presidential candidate since 1984 and certainly didn’t do so this year. Where we part company is with the notion that the Democrat party is in any way, shape or form offering solutions that are any better than what we’ve been served for the last 20 years.
In referring to Obama’s policies, you put the words “left-wing” in quotes, presumably suggesting that you don’t think his policies really are left wing. Have you read his books? I have and was led to conclude that he is far to the left of what we have traditionally considered to be “left-wing” in this country. He believes that the US Constitution is “fundamentally flawed”. He believes that federal court justices should, in effect, legislate from the bench and have the ability to render decisions that result in the redistribution of capital. He believes that federal income tax policy should be used by the government to redistribute wealth. As a young man, some of his heroes were Malcolm X, Karl Marx and Saul Alinsky. Many of his ideas are plucked directly from “the Communist Manifesto”. His books seemed to me to show a young man who is deeply resentful of his upbringing and deeply resentful of white people. The first page of his first book relates a story about how he and his (Muslim) roommate used to sit on their front porch in East Harlem and harass the “white people who would bring their animals by to shit on our sidewalk.” He has made light of his associations with people like Frank Davis, Bill Ayres, Jeremiah Wright, Rasheed Khalidi and other leftists who have made no secret of their hatred for the United States and her founding principles. Can you think of another US president who has had friends like this? He completely rejects the capitalistic principles on which our country was founded and embraces the socialist principles that our founding fathers warned us against.
I’m not angry, my friend, I am simply amazed that so many of my fellow citizens seem to have completely forgotten why this country was founded and how she achieved her greatness. It was not through government programs or through groupthink. American exceptionalism resulted from individual achievement and the liberty that allowed it to happen. Of course we are a compassionate nation and have always taken care of those among us who are unable to take care of ourselves. For the last 40 years, though, we have been on a steady march towards socialism and are seeing our liberties steadily eroded. I don’t think that Obama, who is clearly a leftist, is going to change that direction.
I am not suggesting that John McCain would have either. In fact, I do not believe that McCain would have made a good president either. He is not a conservative and neither was either of the Bushes who occupied the Oval Office. Bush essentially governed like a Democrat for the last 8 years, with the exception of his military adventurism. We have now had 20 consecutive years of US presidents who have governed from the left of center. Our national debt has soared and we now have over 40% of our workers who pay no income taxes. And we have just elected a president and a Congress that are sure to lead us even further in that direction. I shudder to think what the Supreme Court will look like in 8 years.
Never in the history of our nation has there been a presidential candidate with such a questionable background who was virtually completely unvetted by the press. Can you imagine the press coverage that would have resulted if it had been disclosed that a Republican presidential candidate had launched his political career at the home of a former leader of the weather underground terrorist organization? Ask a typical liberal why they voted for this guy and they’ll respond with something brilliant like “because he’s going to change things” or “anything is better than Bush”. Yeah, Bush was a bad president. My left big toe has been hurting me lately, but I’m not going to amputate my leg in attempt to fix it.
I’m not going to be like the liberals have been for the last 8 years and actively denounce the sitting president. I’m not angry and I don’t hate the guy. Pulling against the leaders of the country is like pulling against yourself. Believe me when I say that I sincerely hope that this guy can put our country back on the right track. After reading his books and listening carefully to what he has to say, though, I see nothing to suggest that he’s going to do anything other than compound the mistakes of his most recent predecessors – more and more government intervention into our lives and higher taxes to pay for it.
Nobody hopes this guy turns out to be one of the greats more than I do. I would love to see him lead this country away from the nanny state that it is becoming. I would love to see him foster policies that will encourage people to rely on themselves and take care of their own families instead of sucking off the government tit at somebody else’s expense. I hope he does. I just don’t see anything at all that suggests that he will. “Hope” and “change” are nebulous words. They are not strategies to achieve greatness.