John Ashcroft and the Spirit of Justice
A song by Tom Paxton, 2002
Hi all,
Thank you for joining me for this week’s song, John Ashcroft and the Spirit of Justice, by Tom Paxton.
If you’d like to hear the song before you read the background, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics. I’ve written the lyrics in italics. As with most everything, there are many ways to interpret things. I invite you to leave a question or comment at the end.
For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.
The Song
(455 words)
The Justice Department in Washington, D.C., is the department of the government that deals with making sure the laws of the country are followed.
The top person in this department is called the Attorney General. Many times, the press is invited to hear the Attorney General give a statement or speech.
Today’s song is about an Attorney General named John Ashcroft, a conservative American politician. He was the 79th Attorney General from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush.
From time to time, Attorney General Ashcroft held press conferences in the Great Hall of the Justice Department building, but in 2002, someone ordered curtains to be put up in front of two statues that had been there since the 1930s. “The Majesty of Law” is one statue - a man who is wearing a toga covering the middle part of his body. The other statue of is a woman. It is called “the Spirit of Justice”. She is wearing a toga also, but one breast is bare. Ashcroft said that he did not like being photographed in front of the statues.
The song tells the story of the event and why it was controversial.
John Ashcroft went to meet the press; he faced the microphones
His heart was filled with righteousness, his voice like God's trombones
But then he saw the statue that was set behind him there
It was "The Spirit of Justice", yes, but one of her breasts was bare
When Ashcroft saw the bare breast, he was so upset that he couldn’t concentrate on his job. (His job was to carry out the law for people the government accused of doing something illegal.)
John Ashcroft shook with horror at this gleaming marble globe
It thrust itself out toward him from a loosely falling robe
It was so hard to concentrate on those he there accused
With that marble breast behind him, poor John Ashcroft got confused
Each time he saw the marble breast, John Ashcroft was appalled
He finally gave the order and a curtain was installed
Now when he makes a statement, you will see him on the tube -
The curtain hides the statue, but you'll still see one big boob!
In this song, Tom Paxton is poking fun at this conservative politician. He is pointing out that the Attorney General was embarrassed to be photographed in front of a work of art that happened to have one bare breast.
The last two lines are important. You will see him on the tube means you will see him on television (tube). The curtain hides the statue, but you’ll still see one big boob. “Boob” means “breast”. It also means a foolish or stupid person.
The curtains were removed in 2005.
VOCABULARY
conservative 保守的
politician 政治家
toga 古代ローマ市民が着用した外衣
breast 乳房
bare 裸
controversial 物議を醸す
righteousness 正義
accuse 告発する
gleaming キラリと光る
marble globe 大理石の地球儀
thrust 推力
be confused混乱する
be appalled 愕然とする
poke fun at からかう
(Song begins at 00:50)
Sources
CBSNews. com. (2002, January 29). Cover-up at Justice Department. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cover-up-at-justice-department/ . Accessed 25 June 2023.
Los Angeles Times. (2005, June 25). Justice ends statue coverup. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jun-25-na-coverup25-story.html . Accessed 25 June 2023.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons [File:Sculpture "Spirit of Justice" Great Hall, 2nd floor, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C LCCN2010720238.tif|Sculpture_"Spirit_of_Justice"_Great_Hall,_2nd_floor,_Department_of_Justice,_Washington,_D.C_LCCN2010720238]
Tom Paxton’s Website! https://www.tompaxton.com/
Note
The statue is made of aluminum, not marble.