Arlo Guthrie is Woody Guthrie's son; Arlo was very popular in 1960's hippie… Read Full Bio ↴Arlo Guthrie is Woody Guthrie's son; Arlo was very popular in 1960's hippie communities for his lyrics, always looking for fun, chronicling the values of the day, sample verbiage "You can get everything you want in Alice's Restaurant" And Alice's Restaurant was also a movie as well as an album, Arlo Guthrie made the music for the film, devised it and featured in it. Woody Guthrie, obviously performing a generation earlier, was a folk-singer, singing solo songs to speak out for his fellow downtrodden Americans, as well as working children's songs, just using acoustic guitar, while Arlo had occasional, collaborating backgound musicians, such was the communal zeitgeist, adding to his sound and his much-acclaimed 1960's public stance.

Presidential Rag
Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴

You said you didn't know
That the cats with the bugs were there
And you never go along with that kind of stuff nowhere
But that just isn't the point man
That's the wrong wrong way to go
If you didn't know about that one, well then what else don't you know
You said that you were lied to
Well that ain't hard too see

But you must have been fooled again by your friends across the sea
And maybe you were fooled again by your people here at home
Because nobody could talk like you
And know what's going on
Nobody elected your family
And we didn't elect your friends
No one voted for your advisers
And nobody wants the men
You're the one we voted for, so you must take the blame
For handing out authority to men who were insane
You say its all fixed up now, you've got new guys on the line
But you had better remember this while you still got the time
Mothers still are weeping for their boys that went to war
Father still are asking what the whole damn thing was for
And People still are hungry and people still are poor
And on this week of work these days don't feed the kids no more
Schools are still like prison
'Cause we don't learn how to live
And everybody wants to take, nobody wants to give
Yes you will be remembered, be remembered very well
And if I live a long life, all the stories I could tell
A mans who falls in poverty of sickness and of grief
Hell yes
You will be remembered, be remembered very well
You said you didn't know
That the that the cats with the bugswere there
You'd never go along with that kind of stuff nowhere
But that just isn't the point man

That's the wrong, wrong way to go
You did

Overall Meaning

not know what was going on in your administration and allowed your advisors to make decisions that harmed the American people. The song Presidential Rag by Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger is a political protest song that criticizes the Nixon administration's involvement in the Vietnam War and other domestic issues. The lines 'You said you didn't know/That the cats with the bugs were there' refers to the Watergate Scandal where Nixon and his administration were caught bugging the Democratic National Committee headquarters.

The chorus repeats the idea that Nixon was responsible for the actions of those he appointed to his administration, and as the democratically elected president, he must take the blame. The song also highlights the social and economic issues of the time, such as poverty, hunger, and lack of education. It suggests that these problems were not being addressed by the government.

The lyrics express frustration and anger at the government's actions and call for accountability. The song ends by suggesting that history will remember Nixon for his failures and the suffering caused by his administration’s policies.

Lyrics © THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: ARLO GUTHRIE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS