Gov Did Nothin'

Song infobox
Name = Gov Did Nothin'


Caption =
Type = Song
Artist = the John Butler Trio
alt Artist =
Album = Grand National
Published =
Released = March 24, 2006
track_no = 7
Recorded =
Genre = Alternative rock, Roots, Funk
Length = 8:04
Writer = John Butler
Composer = John Butler
Label = Jarrah Records
Producer = Mario Caldato Jr, John Butler
Chart position =
Tracks =
prev = Used To Get High
prev_no = 6
next = Groovin' Slowly
next_no = 8
Misc =

Gov Did Nothin' is a protest song by the John Butler Trio, off the 2007 album Grand National. Written while the Trio were touring in the United States, it tells of how President George W. Bush and his government did nothing about the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005.

Gov Did Nothin' is possibly the most ambitious work by the Trio, containing whole horn sections and other instruments never before seen in their music. The horn section is comprised of 4 instruments, a trumpet, trombone, tuba, and clarinet. It was also played extensively during the Trio's Australian Sunrise Over Sea tour of 2005-06, alongside a cover of Get Up, Stand Up.

Gov Did Nothin' has sparked considerable amounts of controversy. Butler explicitly claims "Do you really think that the Gov would do nothin' if all those people were white?", taking a stab at the alleged racism of the American government. He also claims that Bush is "chasing his tail just to find Bin Laden" and not spending enough resources on anything else.

Trivia

*The vocals sung during the horn section of the song sound very similar to Clare Torry's vocal solo during the Pink Floyd song The Great Gig in the Sky.