I've wanted to write a song about Lee Iacocca for years, but didn't know whether to make it a rap song or a more story-esque folk music track. Then I heard the Hamilton soundtrack for the first time, and realized I could do both. A lot of the lyrics came as a byproduct of my research for an upcoming RCR Stories on Iacocca, as a few of the lyrics are paraphrased versions of quotes Iacocca made himself. Hopefully, whenever I finish the damn RCR Stories on him, this song will make a bit more sense.
lyrics
Lyrics:
Born in Allentown to parents who named him Lido
President of Chrysler and Ford, his alter ego
His name is known from Lehigh to Escondido
His picture in magazines, the automotive Bambino
But tell me this, people listenin', how could he know?
He'd be the auto executive Henry David Thoreau
How could he know
He'd be aficionado
He'd risk his vision of where new traditions could go
Working hard and studying harder since he was knee high
Didn't go to Harvard , brother went Lehigh
Never intended to be vetted or ever be fly
Henry Ford II never expected this Lee guy
His parents told him to throw
Your life into your work, make something grow
You're in a unique position to listen and know
How he went from an average Joe to a guy whose name we know as...
Lee Iacocca
My name is Lee Iacocca
Son of an Italian restaurateur
I'm gonna be the future President of Ford
I'm gonna borrow money past what a man could afford
And pay it back with interest in the quickest accord
I'll be living the dream
And I'll tell my regime
That the speed of the boss is the speed of the team
Thought up 56 for 56, offering loans
Moved from Philly to Dearborn, no more answering phones
1960 was GM of the Ford Division
Coming up with some of the top cars ever driven
Took a Fairlane and a Falcon and gave us Mustang
Lincoln Continental Mark III, and you can trust, man
Henry Ford II, he felt threatened by fate,
So he fired Lee despite clearing $2 billion in 78
So Lee rebuilt Chrysler from the ground to the roof
Got them a government loan guarantee for proof
Focused less on trucks and Euro cabriolet cars
Kicked off 81 with the legendary K-Car
Dodge Aries and the Plymouth Reliant
Turned selling small front-wheel cars into a science
He introduced the minivan that Ford had passed on
Seven years later to the day repaid the last loan
He helped Chrysler acquire AMC
Supported the release of the Jeep Grand Cherokee
Where could this industry be, what more could we do
If this man hadn't retired in 1992
Lee Iacocca
My name is Lee Iacocca
One of these days I'll be more than an adviser
I'mma be the greatest president of Chrysler
I'm gonna borrow money past what a man could afford
And pay it back with interest in the quickest accord
Common sense, I will apply it
Truth, I'll verify it
If you can find a better car, then I suggest you buy it
There's probably a lot that I'm leaving out
And a lot of these facts bout which you'll doubt
But you can look it up in the day or in the night time
Like how his presidential campaign slogan was “I Like I”
Or how he guest-starred one time on Miami Vice
Or wrote the best-selling nonfiction hardback of 85
And donated the proceeds to diabetes research
Where have all the leaders gone, to this day we search for
Lee Iacocca
His name is Lee Iacocca
One of these days you will remember my name
Cuz I'll play the white collars at their own game
Stay the course? Why are they saying “Stay the course”?
When we're seriously underselling our whole work force
Let's get back to common sense
And the common dollar
If you're down with going back to basics then holler
Lee Iacocca, a man for all seasons
Lee Iacocca
Lee Iacocca, the American Dream
Building cars, paying off loans
And doing all sorts of things
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