This song has been kicking around in my notebook for a while now. I figured what better time to record a version of it than from the balcony of the Lakou Mizik house in Port au Prince, Haiti during Barack Obama’s February 12, 2013, State of the Union address…with dog’s fighting on the street and Barbancourt rum in my veins.
Election Day
By Chris Velan
I’m smooth as a river stone
I’m feeding on the hopes of men
And you think that you don’t need me
But I’ve come to prove you wrong again
So paint me as your villain
Well, this is how it’s always been
I make the bad things go away
You let me be the one to do you in
And I’ve made it through the ages
I think it’s safe to say
I’ll be smiling like a diamond
By the time the sun sets on election day
Who I am is not the point here
In fact, it’s of little consequence
I’m the son of a system
That will always rise in my defense
I’m the gamble on your future
Every hour on the hour
I’m the hand that holds on tightly
To the levers of power
And I didn’t invent this game
I just play it with great confidence
I have made it through the ages
I think it’s safe to say
I’ll be smiling like a diamond
By the time the sun sets on election day
I was born for this role
My destiny is manifest
You’ll get hurt if you stand in the way
Don’t try to put it to the test
I’ve got your leaders in pocket
They’re all there crammed in tight
I’ll leave it up to them
To make you see a wrong as if it’s right
My religion is the dollar
It’s up to you to sink or swim
Hey, Jesus was a socialist
Don’t tell me that you’d vote for him
I have made it through the ages
I think it’s safe to say
I’ll be smiling like a diamond
I’ll be smiling like a shiny, shiny diamond
I’ll be smiling like a diamond
By the time the sun sets on election day
