We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Well, I (Don't) Declare!

from Global Search Party by Walter Ehresman

/

about

One of the last songs written for the album, Ehresman terms it a call to arms for the battle ahead--in this election year--against the Republican Party and the oligarchy that owns it, while also shining a spotlight on those giving lip-service to both sides for their own profit.

Ehresman passionately avows: "This is the fight of our lifetimes, and I have no time or respect for people who won't engage........Down here in San Miguel where I live, there is a large ex-pat community.....When Trump started to get traction in the 2016 election, a lot of them came out of the closet as frothing right wing Ugly Americans, snarling at the locals and behaving in a manner that I can only guess they had been somewhat suppressing before then....It's like the British in India--hating the "wogs" but loving the low prices and cheap labor......A colonial mentality.......Now, it seems evident that about half of the American ex-pats down here are Trumpy, to the great embarrassment of (and detriment to) the rest of us who try to live as polite guests in this country......I won't have anything to do with Trumpy gringos, because associating with them would be a form of social enabling....it would be me saying that it's ok for them to live in Mexico while believing these hateful racist things.....and, as far as I'm concerned, it's about 1000 miles from being ok."

"But, really, this song is less about those overt ex-pat Republicans and more about a few others down here who pretend alliance with either side, depending on who they're talking to, in order to maximize their personal business prospects......cheap salesmen with no principles."

Musically, the song has a bold, Led Zeppelin-type feel to it, with a raw, dangerous guitar solo reminiscent of Tony "T.S." McPhee of The Groundhogs fame that speaks Ehresman's anguish and resolve beyond what lyrics can convey.

lyrics

Well, I (Don’t) Declare!
(© 2019 Walter Ehresman)

You wanna be all things to all men (you sell more stuff that way);
But when you flatter every person you meet, we can’t believe a single word that you say;
Oh, been a long time comin’--wasn’t feeling so well
‘bout this web of associations, and I think you can tell

Battle lines need to form up, people;
Gotta say that it’s way past time;
Can’t afford those workin’ the middle—
maximize the payday while you talk from both sides.

You’re painting portraits of Reagan and Rand, then you whisper that it don’t mean a thing;
But your blurbs praise ‘em high to the heavens with the sales-pitch that you loudly sing.
Oh, I’m sure the money’s better doin’ business that way,
but your soul’s in hock to your eyeballs, until you enter the fray.

Big money is steady as poison—
all those red hats (with some DINOs on the side);
Way over here, we try to do what we can do;
With two-faced schmoozers makin’ money on the ride.

credits

from Global Search Party, released May 20, 2020
Walter Ehresman: vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, 5-string electric bass, key percussion, drum machine programming.

Produced by Walter Ehresman at Snipe Bog Studios, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

p. 2020 Walter Ehresman. Snipe Bog Records.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Walter Ehresman image

Walter Ehresman San Miguel De Allende, Mexico

Called "the quintessential Austin DIY artist" by famed local disc jockey Charlie Martin , Walter Ehresman was an eccentric presence in the Austin music scene from the '80s until his 2015 move to Mexico. A prolific songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and recording artist...and a restless musical spirit, always looking for something new, expressed with fearlessly honest, socially-conscious lyrics. ... more

contact / help

Contact Walter Ehresman

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like Walter Ehresman, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring interviews with LA music scene pillar Kamasi Washington, and new London-based duo Mrcy.

listen now