Heart axed McCain’s playing of Barracuda. Jackson Browne vetoed Running On Empty, although the title was at least accurate for the given usage. John Mellencamp nixed Our Country and Pink Houses. And everybody remembers the contretemps over Born in The USA.
With all the trouble John McCain has had about using pop songs without their writers’ consent I started thinking about just what might be an appropriately themed anthem for the Abe Simpson/Tonya Harding ticket. McCain has had problems with voters wondering what he actually stands for, given the number of about-faces he has executed, and now he is being plagued with comments about being overshadowed by his Vice-Presidential pick; she seems to be much more interesting to his fans (if that is the right word to use) than he is.
There is one song that seems to fit perfectly:
I'm a loser I'm a loser And I'm not what I appear to be
Of all the love I have won or have lost There is one love I should never have crossed She was a girl in a million, my friend I should have known she would win in the end
I'm a loser And I lost someone who's near to me I'm a loser And I'm not what I appear to be
Although I laugh and I act like a clown Beneath this mask I am wearing a frown My tears are falling like rain from the sky Is it for her or myself that I cry
I'm a loser And I lost someone who's near to me I'm a loser And I'm not what I appear to be
What have I done to deserve such a fate I realize I have left it too late And so it's true, pride comes before a fall I'm telling you so that you won't lose all
I'm a loser And I lost someone who's near to me I'm a loser And I'm not what I appear to be
©Lennon-McCartney
Parsing these lyrics can lead to all kinds of political innuendo but I would never do that!
Now, the question is - will Michael Jackson allow them to use it?