The Balad of John and Sarah

Just when you thought it might once again be safe to think in America, Janis Ian (well known free thinker, songwriter, and lesbian) has signed on to sing the GOP's election jingle.*

Janis Ian sings ...

The Balad of John and Sarah

You got Ma Rainey talkin’ ‘bout a jelly roll

Chuck Berry workin’ on a mojo

Bessie Smith singin’ Bull Dagger Blues

Elvis twitching on the evening news

Danger, danger, can’t you see

that sex should stay a mystery

so ban that music, yessirree

That’s what America means to me

We gonna ban Walt Whitman, and Jean Cocteau

All the queers will have to go

Mr. Tennessee Williams, Plato too

You got to give J. Edgar Hoover his due

Danger, danger, can’t you see

They’re in your local library

so ban those authors, yessirree

That’s what America means to me, yeah

We gonna ban all the dagos, the wops and the kikes

Gonna ban all the chinks and the towelhead types

Ban all the wetbacks, ban all the fags

Wrap it up tight in the American flag

Danger, danger, can’t you see

it’s dangerous when they are free

so ban those lazy refugees

That’s what America means to me

I watched the news last night at nine

Saw a head blown off somebody’s spine

The women moaned and the children screamed

Doesn’t anybody else think that’s obscene?

It ought to be a felony

to practice such stupidity

but it’s my right, as you can see

That’s what America means to me, yeah

*Yes, I am kidding, but I'm a little creeped out.