Presidents
From This Might Be A Wiki
A number of They Might Be Giants songs mention US presidents. A reoccuring topic for the Johns as America's chief executives fascinate them both.
Central theme[edit]
- Canada Haunts Me - is about James K. Polk.
- Hail To The Chief
- Ike Was A Handsome Man - "Ike" was a nickname of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
- James K. Polk - Also mentions Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan
- Lincoln, Washington, And That Jefferson Guy
- Nixon's The One
- President's Daughter
- Tippecanoe And Tyler Too - Campaign song for William Henry Harrison
- Truman
- Who Are The Electors? - "In Article Two of the U.S. Constitution, the framers spelled out how the chief executive is chosen"
Briefly mentioned[edit]
- Ant - "someday that ant will grow up to be president"
- Au Contraire - Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- California Über Alles - "Soon I will be president"
- Cells - Dwight David Eisenhower
- Clap Your Hands (Live Almanac) - "The next president of the United States - On the drums - Mr. Marty Beller!"
- Cyclops Rock (Demo) - "I'm sick like Nixon was sick" (changed to "Chucky" on the album version)
- Definition Of Good - "President in a wig"
- Fernando Wood - "If President Lincoln considers this an act of war..."
- The Guitar (Outer Planet Mix) and The Guitar (Even Further Outer Planet Mix) - Both seem to include samples of Nixon's phone call to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon.
- He's Loco - "I vote for Eisenhower in every election"
- Lee Harvey Was A Friend Of Mine - "They say he shot the president, but I don't think he did"
- My Evil Twin - "Who cut the arms off the voodoo doll that resembles a Republican president from long ago"
- Number Three - "So I went to the president, and I asked old what's-his-name"
- Purple Toupee
- jumbled reference to Kennedy: "I remember the book depository where they crowned the King of Cuba"
- jumbled reference to Lyndon Johnson: "someone put their finger in the President's ear and it wasn't too much later they came out with Johnson's Wax"
- Rhythm Section Want Ad - Includes an oblique cliche of a Teddy Roosevelt quote.
- San Francisco - "Polk / Fillmore!"
- Sold My Mind to The Kremlin - "Reagan closed the hospitals for the mentally ill"
- Violin - George Washington's head is built in four quarters ("One quarter of George Washington's head", "Half of George Washington's head", etc.)
Honorable mentions[edit]
- In TMBG's Instant Fan Club, the premium-tier subscribers to the club are dubbed Super-Presidents. 2015's IFC Super-Presidents were listed on Phone Power's digital liner notes.
- Ana Ng - a glass with JFK's image appears in the video.
- The Australian Ana Ng single cover features a wrap-around photo of the Johns at the Lincoln Memorial.
- The Ballad Of Davy Crockett (In Outer Space) - In the video, JFK presents Davy with a medal.
- Brooklyn - There's a president, but of a different sort: "he's borough president."
- Clock Radio had an "FDR" button that, when pressed, would bring up this image while playing the song
- Cowtown - "The yellow Roosevelt avenue leaf overturned" - a multi-layered pun of "The Yellow Rose of Texas", Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, and the expression "a new leaf overturned"
- The video for Doctor Worm features a bottle of "President Drops"
- Experimental Film - In the H*R video, little animated Washingtons and Lincolns.
- Multiple references to presidents Lincoln and Polk are made in Gigantic.
- Join Us - The instructions for making a paper monster hearse include an Abraham Lincoln "action figure".
- Marty Beller is often introduced as the "next President of the United States of America".
- (She Was A) Hotel Detective - A bust of Lincoln in the video
- State Of The Union - The song itself does not refer to a specific president, but it is an annual speech the president gives.
- They Might Be Giants Friday Night Family Podcast - In the episode Number Two released February 15, 2008, The puppet Johns are dressed as president Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
- Venue Songs - A picture of Thomas Jefferson appears on the DVD Case and on the desk of The Deranged Millionaire.
- William Henry Harrison - Improvised song on September 5, 1997
