‘We Are Where We Are’ and other political pop 'favourites'

PICKETS outside the Dáil are fairly commonplace these days so it was no surprise to see a small but determined-looking group waving placards as I pulled in last week.

The protester in chief – dressed in what can best be described as a Fidel Castro outfit – approached. He started to sing “Hello, Mary Lou” (I know, I know) through a loudhailer and handed me a CD. I took a closer look at the guy and, glory be, it was none other than Paddy Cullivan from The Camembert Quartet – you know, the group from RTÉ’s Tubridy Tonight.

Paddy and his Camembert comrades were protesting against the use of political clichés. The CD is called ‘We Are Where We Are’. It’s a collection of songs based on phrases that are used and abused by politicians and pundits. It was inspired, according to its makers, by “Brian Cowen, the Commentariat, the Upper Class, Charlie Haughey and Eamon Gilmore”.

The Camemberts with Ryan Tubridy

The times that are in it are ripe for political satire and parody. Paddy gets stuck in, sending up the inane phraseology of the day. It’s great craic.

‘Going Forward’ is exposed as a linguistic formulation to distance politicians from the past – their past actions and decisions.

‘We Lost The Run Of Ourselves’, ‘We Are Living Way Beyond Our Means’ and ‘Shoulder To The Wheel’ are nailed as the blame-sharing language of the NAMA classes and their political bedfellows.

The often-parroted ‘We Are Where We Are’ cliché is shot down as language which shields politicians and pundits from the question ‘But how did we get here?’

While I cannot vouch for the musical merit of the songs or all of the lyrics, ‘We Are Where We Are’ is a refreshing piece of political satire. It punctures the waffle of the puffed-up, self-important cliques that have brought misery to the masses.

If Paddy is making another CD I suggest he adds ‘Anger Is Not A Policy’ to his hit list.

In the interests of safety, don’t play this CD while driving. Laughter can cause accidents.