A Brief History Of Terrible Presidential Campaign Songs
Three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and presidential candidates trying to capture the youth vote with a catchy theme song. Actually, four things: death, taxes, presidential candidates trying to capture the youth vote with a catchy theme song, and that that theme song will be terrible.
This isn't to say that the music behind the songs is always terrible (it isn't!), but campaign songs are just so… they just don't work. To illustrate why, here's one of the best in recent memory, Krista Branch's "I Am America," which was adopted by Herman Cain's campaign in 2012:
When it starts, it's not so bad. Heck, that synth and piano line has the potential to blossom into a good song. But then Branch shoehorns in the word "Accountability" a few lines into the song. And that's the issue with campaign songs: Communicating policy positions in a song is always and forever going to sound goofy as hell. But that doesn't mean candidates haven't tried. Here are some of the worst in recent elections.
Country Songs
Ben Carson released Justin Tranchita's country jam on his website Thursday, reminding us that, yes, This Is America. Props to Tranchita for almost getting the lyric "While governmental power tends to grow continuously" to not sound super awkward:
Rick Santorum's "Take Back America" mainly just reminds us of Parks And Recreation's "Catch Your Dream," Leslie Knope's campaign song.
In 2012, Santorum was also the benificiary (?) of this classic entry in the presidential song genre:
Rap Songs
While not his official campaign song, per se, a radio ad released on Thursday by Carson did feature this very-not-good rap song, the handiwork of rapper/producer Aspiring Mogul:
Newt! At a rally in Port St. Lucie, Florida in 2012, Newt's campaign played a rap song written by some local teens (one of whom's mother helped run Gingrich's campaign in Port St. Lucie.)
Ted Cruz hasn't released his own official song, but he is apparently quite inspiring to the rappers among us:
… Country Rap Songs
Oh, Rick Perry. When you can't pick just one, why not have country-rap artist Colt Ford remix his song "Answer To No One" with lyrics about Rick Perry.
Other
Kudos to President Obama for breaking the rap/country monopoly with his "Yes We Can" from 2008. It's still bad (and a blatant celebrity-vehicle).
Martin O'Malley has stayed away from an official campaign song, but the guitar-playing candidate has taken a different — and no less bad — path:
