Politicians bought and sold
And they're doing just what they're told
Pretending that they got our backs
But they belong to Exxon and Goldman Sachs
They're standing with the flag unfurled
But it's money, it's money that rules the world
They're trying to say to me and you
Corporations are people, too
The way that it seems to me
They're trying to steal our democracy
So many accusations hurled
But it's money, it's money that rules the world
I used to watch the eagle fly
See him soaring across the sky
But now it makes me wanna cry
I'm afraid that he will soon die
So listen, every boy and girl
It's money, it's money that rules the world
~ Walter Trout
I'm heading out this evening to see Walter Trout in concert, so I figured I might as well post one of his songs. Now, I am no authority on Walter Trout or on the blues in general, but I have been yearning for an opportunity to get lost in some live blues. Trout, throughout his five-decade career, has amassed quite a resume. Perhaps most notable would be his time with Canned Heat and with John Mayall. So I am looking forward to a pint of Sweetwater 420 and some crazy guitar mastery while lounging on a cushioned bench in a funky outdoor setting with two very dear friends. Life IS good!
"Money Rules the World" appears on the 2012 release Blues for the Modern Daze. Clearly, the song is a reaction to that year's Presidential election, but, as with so many songs of a political nature, this one resonates today. Yes, it was Mitt Romney who famously informed us that corporations were people, too, and in 2017, they still are, perhaps to an even greater degree than five years ago. And when the Secretary of Education can buy her way into that position via corporations like Amway and Blackwater, the balance of power in this country is beyond skewed. The gap between the haves and the have-nots has never been wider. And the possibility of reversing Citizens United seems less and less likely.
The mention of Exxon and Goldman Sachs is eerily prescient. With at least a half-dozen ex-Goldman Sachs predators in the current administration's Cabinet, and the appointment of Exxon executive Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, money is indeed, literally, ruling the world.
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