"Measles and Polio Down in the Schoolyard" - Marsh Family parody of Paul Simon "Me and Julio" on RFK

This may not be one of Paul Simon’s most successful songs, but it was a fun vibe to work up at the start of a new school year – getting instruments out for the first time since a summer holiday. The original was the second single from the album “Paul Simon” (released 1972) and the inscrutable story in the lyrics is set in the Queens neighbourhood where he grew up. By coincidence, it was apparently performed with Stephen Colbert in 2015 on The Late Show – the programme that this week tore into Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s record and showed some of his fiery testimony in the Senate, an episode which also made it into European news coverage (story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62ngkpxk9lo).

Needless to say, the world is watching with alarm the compromising of America’s public health systems, including the dismantling of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) – which has now lost its chief medical officer, director of immunisation, and director of emerging diseases (among many others) - while misinformation spreads, rates of vaccine uptake plummet, new outbreaks of measles kill again, and some states gallop headlong towards removing mandates that had the overwhelming backing of the scientific and medical communities.

___________________________

Support us here: - PayPal to leave us a tip jar: https://paypal.me/marshfamilysongs - Patreon for ongoing support & bonuses: https://www.patreon.com/marshfamilysongs

Find our other channels here: https://linktr.ee/marshfamilysongs

Follow us here: - https://www.marshfamilysongs.com - https://www.facebook.com/MarshFamilySongs/ - https://www.instagram.com/marshfamilysongs/ - https://twitter.com/MarshSongs - https://www.threads.net/@marshfamilysongs - https://www.tiktok.com/@marshfamilysongs - https://bsky.app/profile/marshfamilysongs.bsky.social - https://open.spotify.com/artist/6AYmbCwi92V29y69lkRkRa

___________________________

LYRICS:

There’s more melodrama rolling ahead As a man without qualification Shared a couple of doubts, put some bunkum out Now he’s undermining vaccination!

RFK is sure He used to work in law With a hem and haw He’s gonna end the cure

The medics looked round, saw the shit going down And resigned or faced termination The panel destroyed by conspiracy boy Now they’re restricting who gets immunisation!

Hell, it’s RFK He don’t know what he’s doing! It’s RFK He’s faking the science, so you’d best beware Cos heaven knows: it’s not only Corona We’ll see measles and polio down in the schoolyard We’ll see measles and polio down in the schoolyard

WHOA! Lots of roadkill affairs – like the thing with the bear Had a heroin drug conviction Got a worm in his brain Hope the poor thing escaped Cos it’s not a place you’d want to be trapped in

There’s a couple of ways, that when you hear what he says, That you’d guess he’s more ‘quack’ than ‘geek’ First of the Health Secretaries who’s abetting disease MMR’s now the lowest it has been

And you know who’ll pay? The folk whose shots are going As state by state They’re claiming their ‘right’ to infection-share Cos heaven knows: it’s not only Corona

We’ll see measles and polio down in the schoolyard We’ll see flu and rubella down in the schoolyard We’ll see varicella, down in the schoolyard We’ll see hepatitis, down in the schoolyard We’ll see parotitis, down in the schoolyard We’ll see coronavirus, down in the schoolyard

___________________________

THANKS SO MUCH TO PATREONS (HOWLERS below):

Alyssa Sangeeta Jacobson Memorial Fund Sacramento Scott Jeanette Mansfield Bond Starker Christian Schranz Peter Green Richard Boultbee LisaMarie Fitzpatrick Hunjip Shin Ed Rocheck Sandra Vernooy Dan McColm Douglas Lind David Ryan Simon Haslam Lew Mike Smith Andy Riches Cliff Hope Carol Leff Derrick Brown David Patrao Karen & Geeta Erick Löfdahl Grandad