Description:
“Walking in Memphis” was first written and released by Marc Cohn in 1991, a heartfelt soul-filled, gospel-inflected autobiographical ballad about his journey as a struggling musician, in a 1985 trip from New York to Tennessee to find artistic inspiration. We’ve always loved it – it was our summer holiday playlist again this year – and we’ve used it to reflect on the trip that’s been all over the news in the UK, which is the official second state visit of Donald Trump. Sorry to those of you who pick out the shoddy Midi bagpipes in the audio mix – but it wasn’t worth buying a proper sample for the little flourish … we’re sure the real ones will be much better at cutting through, and good at drowning out any painful conversations, at least for a few minutes.
For a full itinerary and summary/lowdown on Trump’s UK state visit, including some reflections on the protests, see: https://www.itv.com/news/2025-09-15/what-to-expect-as-us-president-makes-unprecedented-second-state-visit.
For information about the protests: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/stop-trump-coalition-march-donald-trump-state-visit-protest-london-b1247913.html.
For a bit of background of the furore with disgraced ambassador Peter Mandelson, see here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx25xn2e8zqo.
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LYRICS:
The country’s not enthused
That Trump’s boarded a plane
Why brown-nose a man who just spreads abuse
When there’s little for us all to gain?
Delicately handled – the whole trip will have to be
Yeah, it’s like the worst state visit
You gotta feel for the monarchy!
So it won’t be contentious
They’ll limit who Trump meets when he scoffs his meal
Stiff and pretentious
The royals won’t reveal the way we feel!
Fawning hosts with heralds
The troops lined up to view
Butter him up with some Kate and William
Keep him blocked from public view
Now security’s not the reason
Why he’s touring towers and tombs
But it’s a pretty shitty thing
Waiting for the king:
A clown in the royal rooms!
They’ll have to put up some fences
Won’t be walking on the streets – keep protests concealed
Stuffed in a carriage
Be like some kind of Disneyland ordeal
They’ve got napkins on the table
They’ve got bagpipes in the air
And businessmen keen to get some deals through
Cos there’s tariffs everywhere
But, boy, this whole affair is senseless
Now it’s true Starmer’s chasing shadows
Every sign is that his polls aren’t good
And he thought his new ambassador
Was an asset that he understood
Turned out quite a bummer!
Mandelson was no white knight …
Now he’s helped to ensure the Epstein files are
Back on the news tonight!
Why’d we allow this?
(Why’d we allow this?)
It’s hardly some great feat of diplomacy!
Offering a butt kiss
(Offering a butt kiss)
To a leech on world stability!
Damaging tariffs …
(Damaging tariffs)
Here’s a meet-and-greet, to take the knee!
While proto-fascists
(While his proto-fascists)
Talk of overthrowing sovereignty
The country’s not enthused
That Trump’s boarded a plane
There’s taxes we spend that are put to use …
And then others a pointless drain
There’s people whose actions deserve salutes
Hope he never gets to tour again
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Views: 13,507
Published: September 16, 2025
Channels: Marsh Family
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