The Ballad of Huey Long

Huey Long° was the kind of fellow

You wouldn't double cross.

He ran his state as though he was

A genuine mob boss.

 

Bootlickers and flatterers

On whom he could rely

Helped him gain his wealth and power.

That you can't deny.

 

He stacked his government with folks

Who'd answer only to him.

His dissenters found themselves

Out on a shaky limb.

 

Hey, Huey,

We all know

The things you did

So long ago.

Your power grabs

Were tried and true.

We know someone

Much like you.

 

Harnessing the discontent

Of people was his plan.

His gift of gab as a populist

Made him a popular man.

 

His cadre of guards sufficiently armed

Made him feel quite smug.

Although he got things done, he was

Essentially a thug.

 

Taking control of elections, he

Sidestepped prosecution.

With power on display, he'd declare,

"I am the Constitution."

 

Hey, Huey,

We all know

The things you did

So long ago.

In a way

You primed the pump

And set the stage

For Donald Trump.

 

Calling himself "the Kingfish," Huey

Found corruption handy.

Power, control, and kickbacks were

His modus operandi.

 

Reporters whom he didn't like

Were ones he would abuse.

They'd be beaten, and he'd call

Their papers "lyinnews."

 

A glimpse of how a strongman would

Appear in the U.S.A.

Was Huey Long's rehearsal for

A dictatorship today.

 

Hey, Donald

We see through

All the things

You've tried to do.

Although this

Is NOT your song,

You're a lot

Like Huey Long.

 

-by Bob B (5-6-24)

 

°40th governor of Louisiana and U.S. senator from 1932 until his assassination in 1935.