Dear Mr. President (Pink song)
| "Dear Mr. President" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Dear Mr. President" is a song by P!nk from her fourth studio album, I'm Not Dead, featuring the Indigo Girls. Pink has said that it is an open letter to President George W. Bush. P!nk has stated that she will never release it as a single because it will lose its meaning and impact if radio stations overplay it.[1]
Controversy
When her album I'm Not Dead was released on April 4, 2006, Dear Mr. President attracted considerable attention. Most of the discussion concerned P!nk's statement that the song was intended for the contemporaneous President of the United States, George W. Bush.[2][3]
Most of the lyrics seem to be sung directly to President Bush, in the form of rhetorical questions. In a reference to the failure of the No Child Left Behind program, Pink asks, "How can you say No Child is Left Behind?/We're not dumb and we're not blind/They're all sitting in your cells/While you pave a road to Hell."
She then goes on to querry, "What kind of father would take his own daughters' rights away? What kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?" This is a allusion to the President's endorsement of a Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in the United States, which is seen in some quarters as being discriminatory to homosexuals.
The statement regarding the rights of the President's daughters could point to several things. The artist may be making a statement about women's rights (specifically, the right to an abortion) or about the overall erosion of American civil liberties in general since President Bush came to office in 2001.
In one of the most perplexing parts of the song, Pink muses, "I can only imagine what the First Lady has to say/You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine."
Some think that the song could correspond to other contemporary and future U.S. Presidents as well.[citation needed]
Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA)
After her loss in the Georgia 4th District Democratic primary on August 8, 2006, Cynthia McKinney played the song to her supporters in lieu of a true concession speech and attempted to sing along.[1]
References
- ^ Cole Haddon, Broward-Palm Beach New Times, Simple Girl
- ^ Jennifer Vinyard, "Pink Pens An Open Letter To President Bush On New Album"
- ^ Sarah Rodman, Boston Globe Whether she's cute or cranky, Pink's music is always colorful
External links
 | This pop song–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |