Welfare Cadillac - Guy Drake (1970)

Welfare Cadillac by Guy Drake 1970.

When Johnny Cash was invited to perform at the White House for the first time in 1972, President Richard Nixon\'s office requested that he play \"Okie from Muskogee\" (a Merle Haggard satirical song about the people who disrespected the youthful drug users and war protesters) and \"Welfare Cadillac\" (a Guy Drake song that derides the integrity of welfare recipients). Cash declined to play either song and instead played a series of more left-leaning, politically charged songs, including \"The Ballad of Ira Hayes\" (about a brave Native-American World War II veteran who was racially mistreated upon his return to Arizona), and his own compositions, \"What is Truth?\" and \"Man in Black.\" Cash claimed that the reasons for denying Nixon\'s song choices were not knowing them and having fairly short notice to rehearse them, rather than any political reason.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• welfare
• cadillac
• guy
• drake
• country

[RollTide0Aggies]

What quality sound! Thanks.. I love to listen to my grandpa; i miss him greatly..

[Imcooler2000]

I love this song !!!

[peterzang]

@75freeman It's cool brother. We're on the same page (no pun intended). I think it's a fascinating record and should be available. It's like TCM restoring parts of movies once thought racist. People need to know what the attitudes of the times were. Peace PZ

[75freeman]

@peterzang i agree the only reason i can see for including the picture of Johnny Cash was the fact that Nixon requested he sing the song. personally i would never have heard the song if i hadn't read it in Johnny's autobiography. so i guess it was Johnny who made this song famous or infamous, so i can see why his image was used as it was included even if his opinions where not the same

[peterzang]

And maybe you should take off that image of Johnny Cash. He hated this song and thought it cliched and cruel.

[TheLongshot11]

This is a good song,but they left out the people stealing from the old people ,(medicatioin ,tools, food and any thing they can sell.

[NathansBackwoods]

@CypherInfinity2, Yes' theres an exception, there are people that absolutly cant work, But most people I know that are truely disabled want to work, alot milk the system like displayed in the song. If your disabled there are ways to work, I mean look at stephan hawking!...granted if all you could do is think your not going to get that far because hes really smart, but there are jobs for people in wheel chairs etc. There are exceptions but people like to take advantage of them.

[ebonilia]

@jojo28227 Hello today's welfare worker is 95% a person that has aged out of the system and considered disposable and 95% a white woman from the middle states who wants a decent living wage job. With outsourcing and only predatory walmart as options she is left to beg borrow or steal to put food on the table. Johnny Cash refused to sign this song when then President Nixon asked bc Mr. Cash realized the status quo was using his song for the wrong reason. God bless Johnny Cash

[44shasta]

I have this record.

[stopglobalswarming]

4 nikees have computers in their cadillacs.

[omega190e]

that guitar is simply amazing!

[seanpdineen]

disabled history adjuct bankrupting myself to get a doctorate, surviving on 10 grand a year as an adjuct and 300 a month bearky keeping me alive.

Because Im trying to play by the rules im struggling, have seen so many give up.

Song is meant as a satire of state of mind, there are those who need help and those who don't bother