Popular music is something of a fixture in political campaigns, both fictional and real.
“You are my sunshine” and “Man of constant sorrow” turn up in O brother, where art thou? during a Pappy O’Daniel’s campaign. Franklyn Roosevelt used “Happy days are here again.” Harry Truman naturally liked “I’m just wild about Harry.”
Closer to home, there was a tiny bit of comment about the use of popular music by local campaigns. Kathy Dunderdale entered her coronation to a song by Alecia Moore – Pink – that featured the lyrics:
I got lot of style, check my gold diamond rings
I can go for miles if you know what I mean
and
I'll be burnin' rubber, you'll be kissin' my ass
Pull up to the bumper, get out of the car
License plate says Stunner #1 Superstar
This past weekend, the Liberal organizers decided to use Trooper’s “Raise a little hell” as the music for Yvonne Jones’ walk-in music.
So that got your humble e-scribbler to a thinkin’ back to other songs that might have been used by political campaigns.
What better place to start than with a song that seemed to sum up former Premier Brian Tobin’s tenure but that was, of course, never used? The Tobinator never seemed to settle into the province. From the day he came back in early 1996, his attention always seemed to be replacing Jean Chretien down the road a piece. Tobin freaked out at anyone who suggested things weren’t great during his reign. it seemed that he wanted desperately to have a successful term as Premier to use as a notch on the old resume if he ever tried to move into 24 Sussex.
And when Tobin kept his federal leadership fund-raising going and called a second general election only a couple of years, it seemed like he never let the family unpack the moving boxes. You know. Because he could never be sure just when he’d have to leave suddenly and go back to where his heart really lay.
Which is of course what he did in October 2000. Only Danny Williams – Brian seems like a test drive for Williams’ style in hindsight - left office in a more unseemly haste.
All of that is why it seemed Tobin should have used another Trooper song as his theme: after all he was here for a good time, not a long time.
- srbp -