Steve Earle puts the boots to "Little Emperor" George W. Bush on latest album

Ever wake up in the morning and wonder just why the hell former U.S. president George W. Bush isn't in jail for crimes against humanity? Or how he can live with himself after leading the horrific invasion of Iraq under false pretenses?

Steve Earle does. And on his latest album, I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, he's got a song called "Little Emperor" that really gives it to Dubya for his war-mongering ways. In fact, he does such a bang-up job of putting the born-again loser in his place that I've included all the lyrics for your reading pleasure. I'm sure Steve won't mind. Play the accompanying clip and sing along!

Hey Little Emperor, come down from your throne
The hourglass is empty, your time has come 'n' gone/> The battlements are crumblin', the walls are tumblin' down
Your counselors and concubines are gettin' out of town
Some say it's an omen, some say it's the winds of change
Which ever way it's goin', it's blowin' like a hurricane

Hey Little Conqueror, where you gonna go
The world is even smaller than it was when you left home
Emptiness in front of you, detritus behind
Nobody ever told you that history was kind
Standin' on the corner, your fortune blowin' in the wind
Your daddy didn't warn ya, ain't no goin' home again

No pomp and circumstance, no more Shock and Awe
You're just a Little Emperor, that's all

Hey Little Hypocrite, what you gonna say
When you wind up standin' naked on the final Judgement Day
How you gonna justify it, who you gonna call
What if it turns out that God don't look like you at all
The leaves are in the teacup, the hieroglyphic is on the wall
You ain't the first to rise up, you sure won't be the last to fall

Hey Little Emperor, come down from your throne
And let another emperor climb on

When Earle called me from Kamloops yesterday to promote his solo gig at the Red Robinson Show Theatre this Friday (June 8), I asked him if he felt the U.S. would ever live down the Bush-driven invasion of Iraq. Or if it already had.

"Well it's one of those things that, you know... I mean, live it down? It's one of the things that can happen if you get the switch politically in my country. Those people that perpetrated that crime where always poised to do it, and we got to a point where people didn't listen, people didn't pay attention, and they did it. And they got a lotta blood on their hands.

"You know, I take responsibility for it as an American and a member of that democracy," he adds, "but I think it's fairly clear that I was opposed to it every inch of the way, for every second."

For more from Earle--including his fondness for touring Western Canada and life with his two-year-old son--see the story in this week's issue of the Georgia Straight. Read it on paper for that old-school "Copperhead Road" vibe.

Update: read my review of Earle's June 8 concert here.

You can follow Steve Newton on Twitter at twitter.com/earofnewt.