Song of the Day 5/8: The Waterboys, “Don’t Even Have to Say His Name”

One welcome feature of European media: They don’t bother with what Trump tweets, they report on what he does, so they don’t dwell on the daily chaos that dominates American media.

Even without constant attention, though, his awfulness comes through. You can tell because American musicians aren’t the only ones expressing their disgust in song. For instance, Billy Bragg wrote “City of Heroes” in January, after the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

Now Mike Scott of the Waterboys has chimed in with the NSFW “Don’t Even Have to Say His Name.” No single incident fueled Scott’s anger. He released a statement along with the song this week:

“I hate bullies, and this song reflects my feelings about the political leadership of a country I love. I’ve been inspired by American music and culture my whole life and believe the decency of the USA will be intact when this debased government is long gone, but only if people both there and around the world question and protest. This song is part of our small contribution to that process. May it serve its purpose.”