Drink To My Health
Lady Liberty sings through the smoke
I’ve listened to the Paul McCartney and Wings album Band on the Run countless times over the years. One of my favorite songs from that album is “Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me)”.
I didn’t realize until recently that the line in the song (Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can’t drink anymore.) was literally Picasso’s last words. The story McCartney tells is that Dustin Hoffman asked him if he could write a song about anything and then pulled out a Time magazine with Picasso’s death featured on the cover as a challenge. McCartney met the moment, obviously.
That line has been running around in my head as a potential song from the point of view of Lady Liberty. (Read the Wikipedia entry about the Statue of Liberty, by the way; fascinating.)
Lyrics
I stood here for the poor and hunted
For those who crossed the sea in fear
But you brought in a ban on Muslims
And told the world they’re not welcome here
You took young children from their parents
And locked them up behind my back
You turned the promise into cruelty
And called that strength while rights went black
Drink to me, drink to my health
You know I can’t drink anymore
The cup is dry, the night is heavy
My torch is dim along the shore
Drink to me, drink to my health
You know I can’t drink anymore
I tried to drown what I was seeing
I cannot bear it anymore
You came for protest, speech, and due process
For foreign students, schools, and law
You ruled by fear and mass detention
And dared the courts to stop it all
You sent the agents through the cities
You made the neighbors shut their doors
You filled the streets with raids and murders
And called it Operation Metro Surge
Drink to me, drink to my health
You know I can’t drink anymore
The cup is dry, the night is heavy
My torch is dim along the shore
Drink to me, drink to my health
You know I can’t drink anymore
I tried to drown what I was seeing
I cannot bear it anymore
But now the numbers start to turn back
In red-seat races, town by town
The voters push against the strongmen
And beat his margins down and down
The spell is breaking here and elsewhere
The ones who fed on fear now fall
The tide is turning toward democracy
And late at last, Orbán falls
Drink to me, drink to my health
Raise up your glass and raise your voice
The torch is bright above the harbor
The people still can make the choice
Drink to me, drink to my health
Not as a plea but as a vow
If liberty has nearly drowned here
Then pull me from the water now
David, I love all you do but especially this one. I lived on Staten Island for a while, many years ago, and was always cheered up by seeing the Statue of Liberty. Our nation’s descent into increasing inequality and corruption at the top is a serious slide backward into the “golden age” and the current poverty, exacerbated by our “fearless leader”’s bad decisions reeks of the great depression that followed it. There was a meme on Facebook that pictured our Lady Liberty sitting at the foot of her pedestal and weeping. Your song brought that image back and tears to my eyes, especially the ending where she starts to get her spirit back. May she and the rest of us continue to do so, and get this ship of state turned around. Thank you!
Amazing collection of information - on a Monday morning! Protest song with a McCartney, Hoffman, Picasso connection no less. The Statue of Liberty wiki is wonderful. Did I miss a specific connection to your words today?