Notes about the song

American president’s song

v Residents – people who live in an area – US citizens.

v Loo – toilet.

v Pennsylvania Avenue, 1600 is the address for the White House.

v There is a legend that when George Washington was a boy, he chopped down a cherry tree. When his father, very angry, asked him about it, he admitted to chopping the tree down. The story illustrates Washington’s honesty.

v Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, although that was before he was president. It probably did not cause him to sleep on the couch, but it makes the song funny.

v The War of 1812 was a pointless war in which America fought against Britain.

v Pinnochio – Буратино.

v Chief of State – President.

v William Henry Harrison caught pneumonia during his inauguration. He died of it a month later.

v Folk – people.

v Nifty – cool.

v Dixie – The South.

v Up to bat – a baseball idiom commonly used by Americans. If you're up to bat, then it is your turn to do something.

v Up at bat – another baseball term meaning he's the one playing.

v The ship of state – After Lincoln's assassination, Walt Whitman wrote a poem in his honor entitled, «Oh Captain! My Captain!» which compared Lincoln to the captain of a ship which he has brought safely home, although he is now dead. It is a metaphor for Lincoln keeping the union together through the Civil War, which was now basically over.

v To impeach – for Congress to bring official charges against a president

v Rutherford Hayes – The Compromise of 1896 was one of the worst elections in American history. Due to the electoral college and the complicated way we elect presidents, there was a meeting of 13 electors which decided the presidency. After negotiations, 6 voted for the Democrat, 7 for the Republican. In exchange for the presidency, the Republicans had to agree to end Reconstruction, which was the rebuilding of the South after the Civil War. At that time, Republicans were in the North and Democrats were in the South. Southerners hated Reconstruction because lots of people came down from the North to tell them how to live.

v To assassinate – to kill an important person. Four presidents have been assassinated: Abraham Lincoln, James, Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennnedy.

v He was traded – obviously he was traded in for a new president. Most kids would associate this again with baseball, as players are often traded by teams.

v Grover Cleveland is the only president who was elected twice in nonconsecutive terms. He was elected, then lost the next election, and then won again four years later.

v San Juan Hill – during the Spanish-American war, Teddy Roosevelt led a band of cowboys (for lack of a better description) called the Rough Riders in the famous battle of San Juan Hill, before he was president.

v 1929 – stock market crashes. This helps start the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover, a very pro-business president, thought that the best way to handle the depression was to let capitalism take its course, so he did almost nothing. This was very unpopular. People started building shantytowns on the outskirts of real towns since they had no place to live. These places were called “Hoovervilles” after the President.

v Camelot – the Kennedy family and administration was often referred to as Camelot because of the almost romantic ideas we had about the young family. Camelot is a reference to King Arthur's kingdom. A broadway musical about King Arthur, called “Camelot”, debuted about the same time as Kennedy's election.

v Richard Nixon was caught in the Watergate scandal. People who worked for him broke into the national headquarters of the Democratic Party in order to find out information to help get Nixon reelected. He and others deny this and any involvement, but Nixon, for some reason, taped most of the conversations he and aides had about the scandal. Once the tapes were revealed, they caused an even bigger scandal. Nixon was the only president to resign. Ford immediately pardoned him.

v Ronald Reagan was an actor, hence the joke.

v George H.W. Bush had a campaign promise of “no new taxes”. He was so serious about it that he said “Read my lips, no new taxes.” He then created new taxes as president, which the people did not like.

v GOP – Grand Old Party-Republican Party

v The last lines about the next president being you isn't that strange of an idea. Americans believe that anyone can grow up to be president, so a lot of kids say that's what they want to be when they grow up. Maybe it'll come true...

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16