Category: Media

‘Don’t Rage’ — Lyrics To A Sad, Slow Anti-Trump Protest Ballad

I have come to believe that the only way to get out of Trumplandia is to engage people who disagree with us. These lyrics are about that. In my vision of this song, it would be a slow ballad like “Say Something.” You could probably garble it a little bit so it’s not quite as “woke” as I would like it to be.

Don’t Rage
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

[chorus]
don’t rage, engage
cross the divide and the pain
try to believe it when I say I have empathy
we can disagree without rage
we can try to engage each other I believe
don’t rage, engage

we’re falling apart I fear
there’s little we can say that
hasn’t been said before
we’re the same people
that’s obvious to see
why can’t you understand
are core beliefs are the same
don’t rage, engage

[chorus]
don’t rage, engage
cross the divide and the pain
try to believe it when I say I have empathy
we can disagree without rage
we can try to engage each other I believe
don’t rage, engage

the earth is all ours to share
if we don’t work together we’re all going down
we have to stop fighting each other so much
begin to engage for what it’s worth

[chorus]
don’t rage, engage
cross the divide and the pain
try to believe it when I say I have empathy
we can disagree without rage
we can try to engage each other I believe
don’t rage, engage

don’t rage, engage
don’t rage, engage
don’t rage, engage

‘No Fuzz On That’ — Lyrics To A Jaunty Pop Anti-Trump Protest Song

One thing that is fun about writing lyrics is finding a good title then trying to figure out genre would be best for the lyrics. Remember, just because I want a type of music with lyrics, doesn’t mean someone couldn’t put it to entirely different music. Shrug. I am just venting at Trumplandia at this point. I just enjoy telling a story in verse and so here you go.

No Fuzz On That
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

sometimes people ask for the truth
life gives you loot to spread
to spread across the earth
you have to tell people
the facts are obvious to all
and say with this a grin

there’s no fuzz on that
there’s not fuzz on that
the truth’s the truth
there’s no doubt at all

people keep spreading lies
think they can make us doubt the truth
but the eyes are wide open
can see what that the facts are clear
there’s no fuzz on that
there’s no fuzz on that
there’s no fuzz on that

when you get a moment to reflect
know that you’ll soon be on deck
you have no choice but smile
when you realize people will listen to you
’cause you’re in the right on this one

there’s no fuzz on that
there’s not fuzz on that
the truth’s the truth
there’s no doubt at all

[bridge]
people want you to believe
so many lies
they want you to believe fake news
but if you do you lose

I have no doubt that people will believe
what I have to say
even if it causes the powerful dismay
there’s no fuzz on that
there’s no fuzz on that
there’s no fuzz on that

‘Life During Trumplandia’ — Lyrics To A Dance Pop-Rock Protest Song

This is a direct homage to The Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime.” I am not saying I’m nearly as good a writer as they are, but I am angry at Trumplandia and this is just me venting in verse. No one cares about any of these lyrics I’m writing, so this is just me screaming out into the void, if nothing else.

Life During Trumplandia
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

the leader could strangle someone on 5th Avenue
the people would scoff and move right along
no one seems to be paying attention to this threat
the Russians are here it appears
we angle for peace in our time
but all we get is lies to our surprise

[chorus]
Lordy, I hope there are tapes
is all we can say in unison
there’s no fuzz on this issue
let’s impeach, impeach, impeach

the Vichy Republicans have control of the radio
they seem to be on every block
watch what you say I sigh with dismay
there’s just going to be doom for days and days
The Resistance will be victorious I believe
but only through persistence will that happen
you can bet things will go up and down
we have a clown as a president
a loon you might say
we are going to rock the free world
life during Trumplandia

[chorus]
Lordy, I hope there are tapes
is all we can say in unison
there’s no fuzz on this issue
let’s impeach, impeach, impeach

[bridge]
but I still have hope
hope that things will go our way
I see in the horizon a blue wave
one that will come soon if we pray
we have to keep the faith

Trumplandia is our home for now
but that will change, change, change
give us a little bit of time to fix things
there’s just tomorrow for us to hope for
hope that tomorrow will be a better place
hope that it will be the end of Trumplandia

‘A Night At Trump Tower’ — Lyrics To A Public Enemy Type Rap Song

I really like Public Enemy because, as Chuck D said at the time, rap was the CNN of the black community. This was long before the rise of “black Twitter,” so he had a very important point. I guess it just seems like Public Enemy’s type of political lyrics might work in today’s Trumplandia. The point of these lyrics is to explain to the average person listening to the radio why the big word “emoluments” is a big deal right now.

A Night At Trump Tower
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

now ask yourself
what’s all this talk about
this talk about the emoluments clause
what the hell does that mean you sing
we’ll it’s an old fancy word for bribe
and that’s what going down
every time some foreign fucker
pays for a night at Trump Tower
a night at Trump Tower
a night at Trump Tower

that means each night at Trump Tower
by a some foreign potentate is a breach of trust
Trump is breaking the law
that sound you hear is the Founding Fathers spinning
they’re spinning in their grave
that the president is selling our birth right
for a night at Trump Tower
a night at Trump Tower
a night at Trump Tower

so while the people curse the bread
our Tsar of a president is selling us out
by making a profit off his office of state
we need a blue wave to strike DC
we need to end this travesty
the violation of the bribes
that happen every night, every night
at Trump Tower
at Trump Tower
at Trump Tower

‘A Forgettable Man’ — Lyrics To BritPop Anti-Trump Protest Song

These lyrics are about Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and how no one who meets him seems to remember the meeting. In my imagination, the music to this would be slow and melodic like a Blur song. But, again, no one cares about any of these lyrics and I’m just writing them to try my hand at telling a story in verse in a way that’s expected to be sung.

A Forgettable Man
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

people meet him day and night
but when you ask them about it
they seem full of fright
what’s to be said about this all
when at the center of this pall is

a forgettable man
Sergey Kislyak
a forgettable man
Sergey Kislyak
what’s up with all of that

Trump may have colluded
with our enemy
but it seems to me as though
no one can see the obvious
the spymaster is controlling things
Sergey Kislyak
Sergey Kislyak
Sergey Kislyak

now we’re going to have to address
the fact that we’re in duress
there’s little we can do now
but express our pain and fear
everything we hold dear is in danger
Sergey Kislyak
Sergey Kislyak
Sergey Kislyak

a forgettable man
Sergey Kislyak
a forgettable man
Sergey Kislyak
what’s up with all of that

[bridge]
we need to be brave
need to explain the problem
let’s pave the way to the truth
is my refrain

but how do we get the truth
when all Trump does is lie and lie
where are the tapes, I sigh and sigh
maybe one may knows
a forgettable man
Sergey Kislyak
a forgettable man
Sergey Kislyak
what’s up with all of that

It’s Up To Silicon Valley To Fix The Trump Mess

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

Donald Trump used his strangely adept ability at using Twitter to become, of all things, President of the United States. So, while I’ve suggested in the past that maybe a Constitutional Amendment might fix this issue, that is fanciful and a much more realistic fix would come from Silicon Valley.

It’s highly unlikely they will do anything because, well, they’re too interested in VR and AR at this point to be bothered with saving the American Republic with a new social media platform. But if you did manage to get them to be interested in doing just that, what might we suggest?

I have talked at great length about what a new social media platform might have in it and if you really want to understand the concept, I suggest you go to my Instagram account. But in general, it seems as though if there was a “Twitter killer” that fixed some of the major problems of that service that managed to produce Trump in the first place, then maybe we won’t have to endure another loony celebrity becoming president.

It seems as though if you were fixing Twitter with a new service you would make Verified Accounts have not only more power but more responsibility in some way. Make them feel like stakeholders in some way. Additionally, I feel giving people not just 140 characters but essentially a whole webpage to make their case might improve the situation dramatically.

Lastly, if you were to hook all this up to threaded discussions like you once had with Usenet, then something pretty cool would happen.

But I have no money, can’t code and don’t want to learn, so this is just me doing a little venting out into the void. Meh.

The New Normal Of Trumplandia: A Constitutional Amendment Is Needed

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

It seems pretty obvious that we need to stop raging against our loony, doofus of a president and settle for a long fight. This is not a sprint but rather a marathon and it should be treated as such. Donald Trump isn’t going anywhere and we need to realize he is going to do real damage to the country in the four to eight years he will be president.

Having said all that, how do we prevent something like Trump from happening again? It seems as we need an expansive, well thought out Constitutional Amendment directed at specifically fixing what we have learned about the problems in our presidential election system.

This proposed Constitutional Amendment would:

1. Overturn Citizens United
Only by managing the “dark money” associated with corporations being people can we begin to expect to have better candidates.

2. Tinker with the Electoral College
It is pretty much impossible to get rid of the Electoral College altogether because both parties have a vested interest in it continuing. But what if you said something like, if there was a problem with the voting on Election Day, that there was a mechanism to have a new election a few weeks later. That would mitigate, if not fix some of the issues we’ve had in recent years.

3. Lightly manage the First Amendment during the last days of an election
It wouldn’t take much, but maybe you could say access by people outside the American media would be lightly managed. Something to make it more difficult for Russians — or whomever — to screw with our otherwise free and fair elections.

It’s highly unlikely any of this would happen as I’ve suggested in previous posts, but it makes me feel better to vent about it.

‘Trumplandia’ — Lyrics To A Neo-Punk Protest Song

The music to this would be an updated version of something like Anarchy In The UK. Something really hard and scary. There might even be a little bit of a rap-punk fusion to this song. Regardless, this is meant to be an updated version of a Sex Pistols song.

Trumplandia
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

Ignorance has descended
there’s nothing more to say
quit it with your dismay
we all live in Trumplandia now
fight the power
in this hour of need
I refuse to get on my needs
I refuse to pledge loyalty
I refuse to kiss the king’s ring

welcome to Trumplandia
welcome to Trumplandia
we will defeat it yet
that’s my hope as I fret

we’ve got to take to the streets
tie up the laces of your shoes
you know what to do, what to do
make sure the fascists don’t know
that they don’t know what hit’em
we may think we’re weak
Trumplandia may have come
but just wait and see

welcome to Trumplandia
welcome to Trumplandia
we will defeat it yet
that’s my hope as I fret

[bridge]
nothing will change
if you don’t fight back
vote, vote, vote
for what you believe

we’ve got to believe
that one day we’ll be free again
that the Bannon’s grip will loose
but that will only happen if you believe
you’ve got to be ready to do what’s right
to fight with all your might

‘Eyes Wide Cuck’ — Lyrics To A Public Enemy-Like Old School Hip-Hop Song

The thing about Public Enemy is they were really directly political in their lyrics and so this would be a homage to their type songs. Again, I just write lyrics like these because it’s relaxing. I know it’s unlikely they will ever be produced for various reasons. This is pretty much a first draft.

Eyes Wide Cuck
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

a demagogue from the Big Apple
has control of the land of the dapper and the sad
Trumplandia is here to say I’m afraid
say it loud but not proud
America is on her knees and
Trump wants her to slop his knob
wants her to kiss his ring, if you know what I mean
we all saw this coming
we were warned, I’m afraid
Trump says he’ll make traffic move
that the buses will run on time
some people believe him so what are we to do
Congress won’t do its job
it’s controlled by Vichy Republican slobs
I look around with my eyes closed and say

eyes wide cuck
eyes wide cuck
eyes wide cuck
eyes wide cuck

America is going to have to fight
fight for her freedom from these chains
what are we going to do I say and say
some people like living eyes wide cuck
they want their freedoms taken away
I say this with much dismay
but with any luck things will change
no longer will we live in Trumplandia
we’ll find some freedom again
people won’t feel the need to flee
the land of the free
but for the time being it seems
we’ll get no relief from these things
Mr. Bannon has the keys to the car
he’s hitting us really hard
it’s going to leave a bruise and a scar

eyes wide cuck
eyes wide cuck
eyes wide cuck
eyes wide cuck

‘Lordy’ — Lyrics To An Anti-Trump Rap Protest Song

These lyrics aim to be something akin to Kanye West’s “Monster.” I am not suggesting that I am nearly as good a writer as the people who produced that song, but I do enjoy telling stories in verse and so this is me trying my hand with rap lyrics. The usual issues of this being written really fast and the fact that the system is built on preventing people people like me from breaking into the industry. Though this is supposed to be a homage to Kanye West, the structure is probably a little closer to an old school hip-hop song.

Lordy
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

hook
(James Comedy at his hearing)
Lordy, I hope there are tapes
Lordy, I hope there are tapes
Lordy, I hope there are tapes

Comey came to the Capitol
not looking to pay
he came to slay
he came to say
the president is a lair
it’s obvious for the blind to see
he may be nascent to the scene
but he’s the worst leader to be seen
we all know there are no tapes
the only tapes that exist
are the ones with hookers pissing on sheets
my life won’t be complete until I see those tapes
cause the FBI got its eyes on this Trump guy
we all know the hooker tapes exist

hook
(James Comedy at his hearing)
Lordy, I hope there are tapes
Lordy, I hope there are tapes
Lordy, I hope there are tapes

so we’re stuck with the insane
this is the new normal I’m afraid
the president and FBI have come to blows
come to rhetorical blows
when two tribes fight
only our enemies find delight
we seem to be out of luck
but we have control of our fate
we could have elected Hillary
yet what do we have now
but a liar and traitor
pushing liberty aside
for whatever reason, you decide

hook
(James Comedy at his hearing)
Lordy, I hope there are tapes
Lordy, I hope there are tapes
Lordy, I hope there are tapes

so when Judgment Day comes
and the Vichy Republicans get a backbone
maybe we’ll find out one way or another
if there are tapes or not
but until that day let’s rage against the night
’cause Trumplandia has conquered America
there’s no fighting back these days
I still have hope though
that one day we’ll get the truth
one day we’ll see the tapes
the tapes of Russian hookers pissing in place

hook
(James Comedy at his hearing)
Lordy, I hope there are tapes
Lordy, I hope there are tapes
Lordy, I hope there are tapes