They Might Be Giants - James K. Polk

"This song was written with childhood friend Mr. Matthew Hill. Originally featured as a b-side, its legacy has grown with hardcore TMBG fans, and now has been resurrected in full hi-fi for Factory Showroom. The lyrics are as factual as we could make them with the reference books handy. James Knox Polk, the 11th President of the U.S., was a dark horse candidate who unexpectedly won the Democratic nomination and the election based on his popularity in the South with his stated goal of annexing Texas, the Southwest, and the Oregon Territories. Once in office he fanned the flames of dispute between the U.S. and Mexico to achieve part of this aim. (The Mexican War is still commemorated in the expression 'Remember the Alamo!') Personally, we find his expansionist policies ruthless and unscrupulous, but the existence of the Western U.S. is largely due to him. The spooky sound halfway into this recording is a 'singing saw,' an actual metal saw stroked with a bow by Mr. Julian Koster."

• Category

  Music

[IVANLULE]

we had to sing this in AP US History, everyone made fun of me cuz i know who these guys were :/

[treesandcoffee]

No, seriously, this really does help with APUSH.

[ObliviKeeper97]

I clicked on this one cause James K. Polk is the name of the school in Ned's Declassified

[Jalix Mergenberg]

Just as a point of clarification, the musical or singing saw is not technically an "actual" saw as they are made to not be sharpened to prevent accidental injuries.

[lurkinglark]

Reading another student's dissertation on this election and this song is coursing through my brain throughout.

[BlockySpheres]

Oh trust me, I am no genius XD But I think you could pretty much tell that...

[v3rst3ckt]

Genius doesn't have an "o" in it. ;)

[david eisenbud]

I LOVE THIS SONG! THANKS FOR THE POST!

[Meatpuppet02]

No, he just threatened war over it and got them to split it. And Van Buren did hold anti-slavery sentiments, but felt the practice was constitutionally sanctioned. So, if not 100% accurate, then the song is close enough.

[lynn4thewin]

Except it's not 100% accurate, i.e. nobody bought Oregon and Van Buren was not an abolitionist.

[BlockySpheres]

Yeah I bet that makes you a genious, god damn, oh wait you like the Steelers nevermind lol

[metalfaust19]

is high school really this shitty now that you're learning about Polk in AP classes? holy fuck, they covered him in-depth when i was in like 7th fucking grade in the 90s...

kids these days must be really fucking slow.