From The Wonderworld of Deja-vu
By Gordonskene Saturday Feb 14, 2009 7:25am
From the world where all things old are new again and all things new have that ring of eerie familiarity, I dug these news items up from the deep-dark past of 1979. Gas rationing, looming recession, the Carter Malaise speech and Chrysler! In 1979 it was Lee Iacocca and the great national nose-turn at the Gas Guzzler. In 2008 it was endless wars, looming recession, Bush cluelessness and the great national nose-turn at really ugly, mundane, rubber-stamped cars.
Strangely, 30 years later not a whole lot has changed. The names and faces have, the cars have (and not in a good way). But Detroit is still pretty clueless.
Oh . . .and they can still use a spare Billion or two.
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I Am Changing My Name to Chrysler
Tom Neilson, Dancin' Shoes
written by: Tom Paxton
Oh, the price of gold is rising out of sight
out of sight
And the dollar is in sorry shape tonight
What a dollar used to get us
Wouldn't buy a head of lettuce
Oh, the economic forecast isn't bright.
But amidst the clouds I see a shining ray,
I begin to see a new and better way.
I've devised a plan of action,
Worked it down to the last fraction
And I'm putting it into action here today.
Chorus:
Oh, I'm changing my name to Chrysler
I am going down to Washington, D.C.
I will tell some power broker
What you did for Iacocca
Will be perfectly acceptable to me.
I am changing my name to Chrysler
I am heading for that Great Receiving Line
And when they hand a million grand out
I'll be standing with my hand out
I'll take mine!
When my creditors come screamin' for their dough
For their dough
I'll be glad to tell 'em all where they can go
They won't have to scream or holler
They'll be paid to the last dollar
From where the endless stream of money seems to flow
I'll be glad to tell 'em all what they can do
Just a matter of a simple form or two
It's not just remuneration,
It's a liberal education
Makes you kind of glad that I'm in debt to you!
Chorus:
Oh, I'm changing my name to Chrysler
I am going down to Washington, D.C.
I will tell some power broker
What you did for Iacocca
Will be perfectly acceptable to me.
I am changing my name to Chrysler
I am heading for that Great Receiving Line
And when they hand a million grand out
I'll be standing with my hand out
I'll take mine!
Since the first amphibians crawled out of the slime
Of the slime
We've been struggling in an unrelenting climb
We were hardly up and walking
Before money started talking
Saying any kind of failure is a crime
Now it's been that way for a millennium or two
And now there is a different point of view
If you're a corporate gigantic
And you're failure is titanic
Down in congress there's a safety net for you.
Chorus:
Oh, I'm changing my name to Chrysler
I am going down to Washington, D.C.
I will tell some power broker
What you did for Iacocca
Will be perfectly acceptable to me.
I am changing my name to Chrysler
I am heading for that Great Receiving Line
And when they hand a million grand out
I'll be standing with my hand out
I'll take mine!
And when they hand a million grand out
I'll be standing with my hand out
I'll take mine!
I surely do love this here Way Back Machine!!!!
Comrade, I've found a good version of the song with Arlo singing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daBx_PBrvSE
Thanks for the title and lyrics!!!!!
I disagree. American cars are much better than they were 30 years ago. American cars in the 70's were joke (except the Dart!!) I have a 2006 Impala and I like it a lot. My Mother has a 99 Neon and it's been very good to her too. Over 30mpg too. That said, they should be a LOT better. America has the capability to design the greatest cars in the world. We did for like 70 years but greed and stupidity keep getting in the way. We CAN do it. Go USA!!
I vaguely remember this (I was 12 years old), but the similarities are almost spooky.
At any rate, great site - great idea - great execution...I've already bookmarked this page and look forward to more.
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