John Chaffee calls out the government with new song

After 9/11, country superstar Toby Keith captured the collective vengeful anger of millions of Americans in his now classic hit “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American).” The song reflects a time when we all bonded together against a common enemy.

Eight years later, we’re still at war with Al Qaeda, but a quick glimpse of our 24-hour news cycle reveals the disturbing truth: we’re also locked in a battle with each other, part of a political culture where crushing those who think differently is more important than coming together for the common good.

But as Cleveland based singer songwriter John Chaffee points out with biting wit and blunt truth in “Play By The Rules,” his explosive new song and High Definition YouTube video (www.youtube.com/chaffeekid), we do share one thing: we’re all fed up with leaders and others in the public eye who keep failing us because—you guessed it—they don’t “Play By The Rules.”

In the same fiery spirit as the Keith song and with infectious country-bluegrass flair to spare, Chaffee gives voice to millions of his fellow frustrated Americans with a song and video concept that grew out of his growing anger over a daily dose of stories of corruption and scandal, not only in our nation’s capital but also in communities across the country.

The colorful and irresistible video features Chaffee, a dead ringer for “Uncle Sam,” in red, white and blue garb singing as he walks through colorful but decadent urban landscapes including junkyards that work perfectly as a metaphorical backdrop for his pointed plea of a chorus: “Cut me in, bail me out, failure’s not my fault/Responsibility, what’s that, just a word that’s all/I’m trying very hard, to chill and keep my cool/I’m trying hard to find someone, who’ll just play by the rules/Is there anybody out there, who’ll just play by the rules.”

The clever costuming idea of “Uncle Sam” in 70s era Fee Waybill (The Tubes) styled red, white and blue platform boots came from an image of the bearded, top-hat wearing icon that Chaffee saw when he discovered an old document called the “Citizen’s Rule Book.” The music was recorded with prominent Nashville studio musicians at that city’s Trax Studios and the video was shot by Cleveland based film director and videographer Ted Sikora of Commercial Recording.

The verses cover everything from a “treasury man who won’t pay his taxes” and “bribes and payoffs now the norm” to “lower standards, lower morals, lower expectations” and “scandals every minute” as “I get fired, you get a bonus.”

Chaffee was inspired to write “Play By The Rules” when he saw that those in government began overlooking significant tax problems in appointees, even with the Treasury Secretary. Another line in the song sums up how he feels: “Not exactly what was planned when The Fathers made this nation!”

Chaffee’s song and video are also a powerful call to arms designed to inspire millions of Americans to stand up and take action. Later in the song, he sings “Do we stand up mad as hell? How much more of this can we take?”

“Early this year,” he says, “it seems we were told almost daily about another tax issue, or ethical issue, or moral issue, not just with the nominees for public office but also our representatives currently serving in government as well as others in positions of public trust. It’s an arrogance that leads to the belief that there are no consequences for your actions.

“And I wondered,” Chaffee adds, “‘how do you know who to trust anymore? It seems nobody plays by the rules. The American people are coming to grips with the grim reality that trustworthiness is becoming a difficult thing to find. To me, ‘Play By The Rules’ is a song about the values taught to us as children that seem to be eroding in the lives and conduct of those people we are supposed to be able to look up to and respect. In many ways, America has become like a rudderless ship, careening across the water wishing she had a moral compass. There was once a Dignity Code, but it’s no longer in our rule book. Maybe it’s time to bring it back.”