Barbra Streisand’s New Album Aims Its Message of Political Protest Right at Trump
Barbra Streisand, the 76-year-old American singer-songwriter and actress, has long spoken in favor of Democratic political candidates. And now, with the Nov. 2 release of the 36th studio album, Walls, she’s aiming her political message directly at U.S. President Donald Trump. Barbra Streisand’s Walls is an 11-track album with songs that call out Trump’s lying while openly hoping for the fall of his (hopefully) short reign.
The first single from the album, entitled “Don’t Lie to Me” (below), asks rhetorical questions like, “How do you win if we all lose? You change the facts to justify … How do you sleep when the world is burning?”
The emotional resonance in Streisand’s voice makes her pain and longing clearly ring through. The song could be about a troubled romantic relationship, but it’s also about our president who, by one estimate, lied 4,229 times in 558 days of being in office.
“I just can’t stand what’s going on,” Streisand tells USA Today. “His assault on our democracy, our institutions, our founders – I think we’re in a fight.… We’re in a war for the soul of America.”
For Walls she also wrote another song called “The Rain Will Fall.” She says she intended rain as a homophone for Trump’s “reign,” adding, “It’s my prophecy. I hope it comes true.”
The 11-track album also contains a few covers such as “Take Care of This House,” a number from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, a 1976 musical about 19th century presidents living in the White House. Some of its lyrics go, “Care for this house / Shine it by hand / And keep it so clean / The glow can be seen all over the land.”
Here’s a track from Barbra Streisand’s Walls:
The album also contains familiar and slightly more hopeful tunes, including John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” Jackie DeShannon’s “What The World Needs Now” and finally a new version of the 1929 song “Happy Days Are Here Again,” a song she helped make famous in 1962 by performing it in a slow and expressive style.
Streisand has spoken out against Trump in the past and written many articles criticizing his policies. She calls the album her “protest … about this unprecedented time in our history.”
