No. 11 · The Presidents
James Polk
1845-1849
With the border region of Mexico and the United States in dispute, James Polk initially reached out to achieve diplomatic reconciliation. But when Mexico declined his buy-out offer, Polk decided that mere Mexican presence in this disputed region was enough reason to declare war. Over time, U.S. military strength caused Mexico to concede and accept financial terms of a buyout less than originally offered. While this resulted in a substantial increase of American land, it enraged a neighboring country where resentment of this action still lingers today.
Lyrics
Capo 3 · Am, C, G
tex-mex and u.s.
couldn't decide on who's us
so james polk decided to try out a buy-out
but mexico thought it was too low
so james polk said uh oh, let's put on the camo
wasn't really a fight
in terms of military might
and eventually mexico was forced to concede
and accept the buyout
that by now
had substantially dropped out
to embarrassing levels of greed
heralded at the time as a victory
these people weren't very forward-thinkingly
forgot about the fact that stolen fences make bad neighbors
even more, enemic strangers
hints of that history still linger today
From the book, published 2009 · song & page updated
Let's put on the camo