Ballad of the Longest Vote

The January winds did blow On the Hill where statues grow Gathered 'round the People's House Not a cheer, as quiet as a mouse Kevin came from Golden State To decide a Speaker's fate He thought the gavel his to take For his weary party's sake But a score of rebels held the line A stubborn and unyielding sign From Florida, a man named Gaetz Helped to seal the chamber's gates

Round by round, they called the roll For a prize that took its toll He needed numbers, strong and true But twenty voices said, 'It won't be you' Oh, the tellers count the vote again Was it the fourth time, or was it ten? The chamber waits, the nation holds its breath A slow-motion dance with political death The gavel lies upon the stand In the most powerful, powerless land Three long days, the sun did set On a promise still unmet

Whispers in the cloakroom halls Answering ambition's calls Giving powers, piece by piece Just to find a small release From the deadlock and the shame Of a game that had no winning name Oh, the tellers count the vote again Was it the fourth time, or was it ten? The chamber waits, the nation holds its breath A slow-motion dance with political death The gavel lies upon the stand In the most powerful, powerless land

And while they fought for that high chair The rain came down in California air A football player fought for life The world went on with all its strife I've seen this tale in courts of kings The lonely song that power sings On the fifteenth try, the spell did break A weary handshake for pity's sake He holds the gavel, thin and worn A victory at the edge of dawn A leader crowned, but with a chain 'Til the story starts again