Streisand on the cover of “Walls”
Barbra Streisand doesn’t beat around the bush, as her self-penned latest single “Don’t Lie to Me” demonstrates.
While many singer-songwriters outside the inherently catty hip-hop genre use metaphor and other figures of speech to contextualize a combustible issue, the 76-year-old diva has deemed it wise to go for the jugular, to get her urgent message across.
Her rage speaks for itself as she sings in her Donald Trump-dissing rhetoric: “How do you sleep while the world is burning? All that we built has come undone.”
Streisand has had enough of Trump’s “smoke and mirrors.” But, it’s the same pertinent question we’d love all of the world’s political despots and kingpins to address.
From its provocative theme to its catchy musical progression, the four-minute track is unlike the recent releases we’ve heard from her.
The song, one of 11 cuts from Streisand’s 36th studio album “Walls” (out on Nov. 2), begins with a noirish tone that quickly veers away from the contemplative and often feel-good sensibility of her romance-driven ballads.
“Walls” is Streisand’s first album of predominantly original content, interspersed with her thematically appropriate revivals of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s 1965 ditty “What the World Needs Now,” a medley of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” and the 1929 classic, “Happy Days are Here Again.”
On her official website, the singer explains the concept behind the album and its songs: “This collection reflects what’s been on my mind lately,” she began. “These are troubling times, and I felt compelled to add my voice to the dialogue some of us have been having.
Barbra Streisand —NETFLIX
“Many of the fundamental principles of democracy and freedom that we’ve always taken for granted—freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of expression—are eroding at an alarming rate. Even basic human decency appears to be melting away faster than the polar ice caps.
“I wanted to write and sing about some of these things—not only to convey my concerns, but also to state my belief that, if we remain vigilant to the truth, things can eventually turn around.
“In the past we’ve seen the very worst of humanity … and the very best, as well. In the face of unimaginable natural disasters and unspeakable human cruelty, there have been many acts of kindness and courage that remind us of who we have the potential to be when we listen to the better angels of our nature.”
But, even without that rallying statement, Streisand’s album can speak for itself: If some recording artists, who are waxing self-referential content in their musical confessionals, prefer to keep listeners guessing (hello, Taylor Swift), Streisand has chosen to take a brave stand as she takes direct aim at Trump for his “assault on democracy,” she told the Associated Press.
“I can’t stand what’s going on! I don’t know who we are as a country anymore. I wanted to talk about the things that were making me sad. Are we embracing people who flee oppression? Are we separating children from parents, putting them in cages?
“I don’t know if people [still] care about the survival of the planet. Do they care about clean air? Clean water? If they do, how could they vote for somebody like Trump, who believes it’s a hoax?”
Streisand doesn’t mince words: She takes Trump to task for “not seeing what everyone sees,” and for “changing facts to justify” his actions and delusions. “Why can’t you just tell me the truth? How do you win if we all lose?” she asserts.
The songstress even uses a sampling of “No More Tears (Enough is Enough),” her hit 1978 duet with disco queen Donna Summers, to get her message across, as she asks Trump repeatedly: “How do you sleep?”
Streisand’s tirade against the US President comes with a cautionary reminder: “You can build towers of bronze and gold/ You can build castles in the sky/ You can use smoke and mirrors—all clichés/ [But] not today/ Not today. Everyone answers to someone.”
Now that the gloves are off, we can’t wait to see how “The Donald” answers—and, as Trump is wont to do, retaliates.