song for theme #26B: The More is Better Mentality

“Bigger is Better” by Stephen P. Cook

to be sung to the tune of “A Day in the Life” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney / The Beatles

At Burger King he’d have his way

Whoopers he preferred to Big Macs

Super size¹ drinks he bought a lot

Then he knew what he sought

Double super bacon cheese²

Macho fat and grease to please!

Yes bigger is better

The SUV³ in his driveway

A tank that weighed four tons it sat

Trade it in he would get

Supercharged Corvette⁴

With six hundred horsepower

Fast, he’d be first not last!

Yes bigger is better

A dollar a ticket he’d pay

A chance to win the Mega Millions prize

Six hundred million dollar pot

With women he’d be hot

If his prayer⁵ was blessed

With trophy wives he guessed!

Yes bigger is better

The lady⁶ had her way I’d say

Bulldozed a twelve million dollar home

With a hundred million to rebuild

A castle she killed

I guess nine thousand square feet⁷

And eight bathrooms wasn’t enough?

Yes bigger is better

SONG—NOTES / COMMENTS

1— “Our Super-sized Kids” is a phrase that has been used (most notably in a 2009 Time magazine cover story) to characterize a

      whole generation of Americans.

2—This monster burger from fast food chain Carl’s Jr. also offers 1100 calories, 71 grams of fat and 1780 mg of sodium.

3—Large SUVs and pickup trucks certainly provide a sense of power and strength. Critics charge they waste lots of gas, pollute

      more, kill people when they crash into smaller cars, hog parking and road space, and have features (large cargo space, extra

      horsepower, four wheel drive, etc.) that people really don’t use much. 

4—This refers to the 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 with 625 horsepower.

5—In arguing that pursuing money and a shopping based consumer lifestyle is a religion, buying a lottery ticket has been likened

      to saying a prayer.

6—Elin Nordegren’s exploits after receiving a large settlement upon her divorce from golfer Tiger Woods are referred to here.

      After Tiger, thirty-three year old Elin was reportedly dating a fifty-five year old billionaire coal magnate.

7—This size dwarfs that of a regular McMansion, a slang term that refers to homes in the 3000 to 5000 ft² range and their

      sameness/homogenization.  In the 1980—2010 period, while the average USA family size decreased by 16%, the average new

      USA home size increased (from 1700 ft² to 2350 ft²) by 38%. 

 Comment: this theme has value as emotional armor.  Feeling small and powerless can be countered by surrounding oneself with big and powerful things.  See note 3. above.   Such feelings of insecurity play out in consumer purchases related to male / female courtship. As young adults, the males often buy large “pickup” trucks, while some females opt for oversized padded bras. More mature very wealthy men, many of whom undoubtedly feel less insecure—given their wealth—than their younger, poor counterparts, nonetheless want to advertise to prospective young “trophy wives” the size and number of their super McMansion homes, and various specifications related to other status symbols they own.