OPINION:
In 1992, the British band XTC released a song called “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead” that was described by singer Andy Partridge as an ode to truth — a cynical-but-realistic look at somebody on Earth who ticked off the powers-who-be by outing their secretive, selfish, destructive and wicked deeds.
Someone, circa 2019, very much like President Donald Trump.
Partridge may not like this comparison. Partridge certainly didn’t have Trump in mind when he penned the song. In fact, he wrote the song after impaling a rotting jack-o-lantern on a post and letting his creative mind flow to the question of what that pumpkin did to deserve such a fate.
“What did he do to deserve to be executed — to be put on a spike on Traitor’s Gate here? … And then I thought, ’Hmm, what would happen if there was somebody on Earth who was kind of perfect? … And the more I thought about it, the more I thought, ’God, they’d make so many enemies,’ ” Partridge said in an interview years ago, American Songwriter reported.
A little musing here. A little extrapolation there. A bit of imaginative expression here and there.
Voila: These words were born.
“Peter Pumpkinhead … made too many enemies. Of the people who would keep us on our knees,” one excerpt from “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead” goes.
Another: “Peter Pumpkinhead put to shame, Governments who would slur his name. Plots and sex scandals failed outright.”
The music video of this song features clips of John F. Kennedy-esque characters.
It could just as easily feature Trump.
It’s Trump accusing the existence of a Deep State; Trump fighting off outrageous claims in a dossier; Trump battling accusations from porn star Stormy Daniels and her seedy attorney Michael Avenatti.
It’s Trump going toe-to-toe, head-to-head with elite Republicans In Name Only politicians; fielding constant fire from hate-filled, angry Democrats, liberals, progressives and socialists; running afoul of America’s intelligence community — and showcasing the ingrained, ugly political side of the supposedly non-partisan intelligence community; batting away one impeachment call after another.
It’s Trump, with his MAGA and America First messages, making too many enemies of those in the high-brow, establishment political class who simply want to control, regulate and rule the rest of us. It’s Trump blasting away at members of the media, many of whom have shown themselves more aligned with anti-American forces than with the good patriotic citizens they’re supposedly in business to serve.
Partridge, in his song, sounds a warning. Peter Pumpkinhead was ultimately killed — crucified, in fact.
But hope springs eternal.
“Hanging there, he looked a lot like you and an awful lot like me,” the ballad wraps.
The takeaway? America is a spirit, buoyed by those who, like Trump, like Trump supporters, fight more for the individual, more for the preservation of God-given rights, over that of the collective, over that of Big Government. And memo to those “who would keep us on our knees,” subservient and cowed to silence: A spirit outlasts and overcomes even the most vicious of political designs.
When Trump goes, America’s spirit of freedom will still reign.
He’s not the only Peter Pumpkinhead around.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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