Atlas Fret: Songs
Lean and Hungry (Cassius' Lament)
(Gardner)
Rome
44 B.C.E.
A soothsayer told Caesar to “beware the Ides of March.” Or so the story goes. We all should beware of the dangers a republic faces when a political leader starts acting like a king.
The song title refers to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar making a prophetic observation about Cassius: “Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look./He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous” (1.2.204-205). See if you can find more phrases from Shakespeare in the song lyrics. Would you have joined the conspirators?
There he goes, he just pulled another stunt
He seized the day, and then he seized a month
Who do you think is gonna take the brunt
If we don’t act now?
He lets those Gauls into the Senate House
He even womanizes right in front of his spouse
Are we noble men or an ignoble mouse
If we don’t act now?
He’s acting like a king
He’s ruling everything
But trouble is gonna reign
Trouble is gonna reign
It’s a dreadful night of evil signs
Thunder, lightning, wolves and lions
So veil your face and firm your minds
We must act now
At the Lupercal with its skins and whips
That tongue of his and those coward lips
The garland crown really seemed to fit
We must act now