"James K. Polk" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, about the United States president of the same name. Originally released in 1990 as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to the single " Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", its first appearance on a studio album was 1996's '' Factory Showroom''. It also appeared on their compilation albums '' Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants'' and '' A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants''. The song is about James K. Polk, 11th President of the United States, beginning with a description of the

1844 Democratic National Convention The 1844 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held in Baltimore, Maryland from May 27 through 30. The convention nominated former Governor James K. Polk of Tennessee for president and former Senator George M. Dal ...

and going on to cover some of the highlights of Polk's presidency. Although the band set out to write a song consisting entirely of historical facts, it includes a few errors or misstatements. The ''Factory Showroom'' re-recording of "James K. Polk" includes an interlude featuring

Julian Koster Julian Koster (born July 26, 1972) is an American multidisciplinary artist. As a musician he is a member of the Elephant 6 Collective, the leader of The Music Tapes, and a member of Neutral Milk Hotel. He is known for writing, directing, and a ...

playing a

musical saw A musical saw, also called a singing saw, is a hand saw used as a musical instrument. Capable of continuous glissando (portamento), the sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin. The musical saw is classified as a plaque f ...

. The song has become a fan favorite and is frequently played live, although the band has expressed antipathy towards Polk himself; John Flansburgh has described Polk as "evil".

Composition

According to John Flansburgh, John Linnell wrote "James K. Polk" with Matthew Hill, a childhood friend of theirs and a history buff. The concept for the song came from a conversation the two had about writing a song that was based entirely in fact, in the vein of "

The Battle of New Orleans "The Battle of New Orleans" is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood. The song describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical ver ...

". Linnell and Hill were specifically drawn to James K. Polk due to his relative obscurity despite his tremendous influence during his presidency. They proceeded to write the song despite personal disagreement with Polk's policies as president. Flansburgh speculated that if they had included their opinion that Polk was "evil", it would have defeated the purpose of writing a song of pure fact. Prior to writing the song, Linnell and Hill were not familiar with Polk's presidency—they chose Polk at random from a list of presidents. Only after researching Polk did they discover that he was, according to Linnell, "really intense and kind of…creepy". In a review of the " Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" single, which had "James K. Polk" as its B-side, Christian Huey called the song's main instrumentation a "plodding synth line". He also compared the bridge's melodic

non-lexical vocables In the broadest sense of the word, a vocable is any meaningful sound uttered by people, such as a word or term, that is fixed by their language and culture. Use of the words in the broad sense is archaic and the term is instead used for utterances ...

to those in "Istanbul". The ''Factory Showroom'' recording features

of Neutral Milk Hotel playing a

. Linnell and Flansburgh call the effect of the saw "spooky".Flansburgh, John and John Linnell (1996). "A Guided Tour of Factory Showroom". Elektra.

Lyrics

The song does not present a comprehensive biography of James K. Polk. Instead, it begins at the

. Deadlocked among Martin Van Buren,

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

, and

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...

, the party eventually chose Polk as its nominee. The song describes his personality and what led him to ultimately be the victor in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

and describes Polk's accomplishments as president, such as acquiring part of the Oregon Territory and leading the country to victory in the Mexican–American War. "James K. Polk" contains two main errors or misstatements in its lyrics. The first verse describes Van Buren as an abolitionist. While Van Buren later joined the Free Soil Party, which opposed the expansion of slavery in the United States, he did not advocate for its abolition entirely. Secondly, the song says that Polk "made the English sell the Oregon Territory" during his presidency. In fact, the US had claimed part of what was then called

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...

prior to Polk's administration. Polk did sign the

Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to t ...

with the United Kingdom in 1846, which delineated American and British claims in the Pacific Northwest. Only after this treaty was the Oregon Territory established.

Reception

Although ''Factory Showroom'' received a lukewarm response from critics, "James K. Polk" has been generally well regarded. In a review of the song for AllMusic, Stewart Mason praised the song for both its melody and its lyrics, which, despite being "practically paragraphs", "scan perfectly well". Though Mason favors the original 1990 arrangement over the 1996 recording, he calls the tune a "fan favorite". A '' People'' review of ''Factory Showroom'' labels the song " Beatles-esque"."Factory Showroom". '' People''. October 26, 1996. Despite the praise the song has received, in a review of ''Factory Showroom'',

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

of AllMusic disapproved of the band's "recycling" old material for the album. To Erlewine, this signified their "creative block" during the period. Regardless, the song is designated as an "AllMusic pick" from the album.

Legacy

"James K. Polk" has been cited as an example of the band's unconventional subjects for pop lyrics.Kluger, Jeffrey (May 15, 2008). "They Might Be Giants". ''Time''.Leopold, Todd (April 12, 2001). "Nerd Music? Geek Tunes? Odd Pop? Oh, Why Not?". CNN. Some critics have seen a connection between the song's educational lyrics and the band's later success, in the mid- to late-2000s, in composing children's music. Mason compares the song to ''

Schoolhouse Rock! ''Schoolhouse Rock!'' is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. The theme ...

'' educational television program; however, the song is also popular among the band's adult fans, and it often features in their live setlists.Christenson, Thor (February 3, 2012). "Sock Puppets Animate They Might Be Giants Show". ''Dallas Morning News''.

Personnel

1990 recording

;They Might Be Giants * John Flansburgh – synthesizers * John Linnell – vocals, synthesizers ;Production * They Might Be Giants – producer *Roger Moutenot – engineering, mixing *Paul Angelli – engineering

1996 recording

;They Might Be Giants * John Flansburgh – acoustic guitar * John Linnell – vocals, accordion ;Additional musicians * Brian Doherty – drums *

– singing saw * Graham Maby – bass * Eric Schermerhorn – electric guitar ;Production * They Might Be Giants and Patrick Dillett – producers

References

External links

* "James K. Polk" at This Might Be A Wiki
"James K. Polk"
at AllMusic {{authority control 1990 songs James K. Polk They Might Be Giants songs Songs written by John Flansburgh Songs written by John Linnell Songs about presidents of the United States