COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Mitt Romney adopts K’naan’s ‘Wavin’ Flag’ on campaign trail. K’naan is not amused

K'naan takes part in a New Democratic Party caucus meeting in Ottawa, March 9, 2011.CHRIS WATTIE/REUTERS

When it comes to music and politics, Republicans can be remarkably tone deaf.

Just ask Mitt Romney, the GOP front-runner who is now facing legal action for playing an unauthorized song at a campaign event Tuesday night.

Romney did not have permission to use “Wavin’ Flag,” the rousing anthem by Somali-Canadian rapper K’naan. Less than 24 hours later, a “dismayed” K’naan issued a terse statement that left no doubt about his political leanings:

“I have not been asked for permission by Mitt Romney’s campaign for the use of my song. If I had been asked, I would certainly not have granted it. I would happily grant the Obama campaign use of my song without prejudice.”

The statement added: “K’naan is currently seeking legal action so that further use of the song by Romney’s campaign can be prevented.”

With lyrics such as “So we struggling, fighting to eat” and “We wondering, when we’ll be free,” the song about resolve in the face of hardship did not exactly gel with Romney’s slick millionaire image.

And now it has become an unwanted distraction.

The incident comes days after Romney’s fading rival, Newt Gingrich, was sued by Frank Sullivan, a songwriter from the ’80s band Survivor. Also without permission, Gingrich had co-opted “Eye of the Tiger” to energize supporters — who, after Gingrich’s talk of building a base on the moon, may have been hearing “Space Oddity” inside their heads.

PHOTOS: Other unauthorized campaign songs

“The problem is a lot of these musicians — it’s the whole ethos of rock — are against ‘The Man’ and the Republicans are the representatives of ‘The Man,’” says John Barry Ryan, a professor of political science at Florida State University. “They want to use the music for their crowds. But the artists do not want to be associated with them.”

This was true in June when Michele Bachmann, who has since dropped out of the Republican race, strode onstage at a rally to Tom Petty’s “American Girl.” Within hours, her campaign was slapped with a cease-and-desist letter.

Petty had previously scrapped with George W. Bush in 2000 after “I Won’t Back Down” was played at the Republican’s campaign events. Bush eventually backed down.

Sixteen years earlier, the uneasy relationship between conservative politicians and liberal musicians was forged when Bruce Springsteen asked Ronald Reagan to drop “Born in the U.S.A.” from his campaign playlist.

Swept up by the seemingly patriotic chorus, Reagan strategists did not realize the song was posing deeper questions about America, including the war with Vietnam and the government’s treatment of veterans.

“I don’t know to what extent these campaigns think deeply about song lyrics,” says Ryan. “The campaigns don’t overthink it. But I would overthink it. That’s why they get these mismatches.”

Other notable mismatches include Sarah Palin’s use of Heart’s “Barracuda”; John McCain puzzling embrace of ABBA’s “Take a Chance On Me”; George H.W. Bush’s fondness for Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy”; Rudolph Giuliani’s use of The Clash’s “Rudie Can’t Fail”; and Bob Dole’s modified version of Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” which resulted in the threat of a lawsuit.

Most of the time, an unauthorized song will be tossed overboard before papers are filed in court. But when a song is used in a political ad, especially if it’s controversial or airs in a major market, the stakes are raised.

This happened in 2010 when Talking Heads singer David Byrne sued former Florida governor Charlie Crist for using “Road to Nowhere” in a campaign video.

The case was settled out of court. Crist also filmed a grovelling apology that was uploaded to YouTube.

It’s a cautionary tale that seems to have eluded the current field of Republicans vying to be president.

“What most people forget is a song is actually two things: a composition and a recording. So both the writer and the owner of the song have to give permission,” says Eric Alper, director of media relations and label acquisitions at eOne Music Canada.

“Most of these cease-and-desist letters and bad PR to the candidates can easily be solved by one matter: pick up the phone and call the artist to ask permission. Once an artist goes public with their disappointment, disgust and sometimes outright hatred of the politician, it’s hard to make voters forget this.”