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Never Asked

Music and Lyric by David W. Jacobsen
Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Once you may recall I spoke before the judge
For what's right, for what's right
But then with age I learned how money could provide
The easy ride, I took that ride

I rose among the ranks so high the gilded age
In this city I was just the man I made

I never asked for the power in my hands
For a time, for a time
I miss my love and I know that I will soon be
Out of time, out of time

And as the years went by I learned to see the world
What you can buy, who you can buy
I learned how the real world could take what I once knew
Lost inside, I took that ride

I had the finest things but they came with a price
I was beholden, it seemed worth the sacrifice

I never asked for the power in my hands
For a time, for a time
I miss my love and I know that I will soon be
Out of time, out of time

Sent to places I was never meant to go
To become someone they didn't know

So other's comprises landed me a higher post
Expecting little more than ceremony at the most
'till a tragedy, elevated me
And my name was uttered as an expected travesty

The world looked at me and assumed the worst
Fearing a criminal or a fool easily coerced

So I ascended they came asking for repaid debts
As I learned how little time in this world that I have left
Seeking redemption, I sent them all away
And resolved to do better in my final days

Papers that vilified me with the words they'd write
Changed their tune and praised my fight

I never asked to be the most powerful man in the land
For a time, for a time
I miss my love and I know that I will soon be
Out of time, out of time

Sent to places I was never meant to see
I found something lost in me

Notes:

This song is about a fat corrupt New Yorker who unexpectedly became president despite being totally unqualified and never holding any other elected office. However, in this case, when he woke up and realized "holy crap, I'm president," he decided he'd do the best he could, given his limited skill set. In the end, he was generally mediocre, but not a dumpster fire of racism, corruption, and incompetence. That was someone else.

No one wanted or expected Chester A. Arthur to be president, including Chester A. Arthur. He was put on the ballot as vice president to pacify an especially shady contingent of the Republican Party that was uneasy about Garfield's candidacy, because they didn't like Lasagna or Mondays or something. Vice president was a pretty pointless job, so long as the president didn't die or something, so no one thought all that much about it. However, Garfield went and got himself shot and then doctor after doctor stuck their fingers inside him trying to find the bullet without bothering to wash their hands. Anyway, short story long, Garfield died on September 19, 1881, which happened to be a Monday, which made Chester A. Arthur the 21st President.

Arthur's wife had died pretty recently and soon after becoming president, he learned that he was dying too. A lifetime of fine alcohol, rich foods, and limited exercise didn't do his kidneys any favors. This awareness of his mortality, combined with a sense of honor and reverence for the role of the presidency, led to Arthur telling his corrupt friends to get bent when they came by the White House super excited that their buddy was now in charge. Arthur tops no one's list of great presidents and his accomplishments are few, but he never asked for the job in the first place and was dying while he held it, so what does anyone expect from him? He was better than Millard Filmore is probably accurate.

From the album Potus
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