song for theme #43: Seeking Wealth and Power

“Give My Regards to Wall Street” by Stephen P. Cook

to be sung to the tune of “Give My Regards to Broadway” by George M. Cohan / James Cagney

 Give my regards to Wall Street

On my way to billionaire

Tell ‘em down at Goldman Sachs¹

That I will soon be there!

Could stock options or junk bonds

Buy our waterfront home?

Or we float an IPO²?

Stick with me, don’t you roam!

The big one³ won’t get away

We’ll laugh all the way to the bank

The bulls are running today

No mercy, don’t break rank!

Give my regards to K Street⁴

On my way to power elite⁵

Let ‘em know whose in charge

Big money talks, I repeat!

 Show ‘em what we’re made of:

The strength to get what we want

We’ll bring down the most upright⁶

Their ideals we will taunt!

Give my regards to Wall Street

On my way to billionaire

Tell ‘em down at Goldman Sachs

That I will soon be there!

Give my regards to K Street

On my way to power elite

Let ‘em know whose in charge

Big money talks, I repeat!

SONG—NOTES / COMMENTS

1—A multinational investment banking firm. Many of its executives have become extremely wealthy and many of its alumni have

      moved into key government leadership positions in steering the US economy.

2—An initial public offering is how a privately owned company issues stock and becomes publicly owned.

3—A big pay day—like selling one’s idea, an IPO, having one’s startup bought by a big name company, etc.

4—If Wall Street is associated with those who run the US economy from its financial center in New York City, K Street is

     associated with the non-elected lobbyists and influence peddlers who help run the US government from Washington DC by

     using campaign contributions and the power their money commands.

5— Power elite refers to the class of people in positions of power in the US corporate state. The term was first used in the 1950s as

      the title of a leftist assessment (a book by C. Wright Mills) of who runs America.

6—This viewpoint supports cynics’ contention that “everyone has their price” and that every politician is potentially corruptible:

      their vote for sale if the amount of money dangled in front of them is big enough. 

Comment: this theme has value as emotional armor. Viewing one’s success as simply part of the way nature works and beyond one’s control, provides a defense against both feelings of guilt and others’ charges. Also see comments for themes #19A and #50A.