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Mr Tepper

from Oblivious by Mick Blake

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about

I have always been of the opinion that not half enough songs are written about unsecured bondholders. In essence they are professional gamblers, often ridiculously wealthy vulture fund managers, who target countries and individuals who have fallen into financial difficulty so that their already burgeoning bank accounts are further bloated.

In an interview on Bloomberg television in January 2013, one such bondholder. Mr Tepper gleefully described how he forced the Irish government to pay out on his lost gambling debt – just plays the game – oblivious to the damage done by the system in which he thrives.

"I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence.” Eugene V Debs (1918)

lyrics

Mr Tepper

A weekend retreat in the Hamptons. Long Island,
is every young stockbrokers dream
They buy and they sell and they yell til they get what they want
So when Mr Tepper was browsing some brochures
He chanced on a mansion supreme
At 44 million, it was really a steal

But when Mr Tepper looked out at the sea
a sand dune obstructed his view,
So he tore down the mansion, built one twice as big
All paid for by me and by you
The view from my mansion, it's not so appealing
Some skeleton houses, a washed away road
But the government says Mr Tepper must get what he's owed

They closed down the school in the next village over
To pay Mr Tepper his dues
The government said it wouldn't be nice to refuse
And with all that money, the great Mr Tepper
He built a fine school of his own
Where young people go in the hope they'll be great just like him

They learn abnout hedge funds and bond yields and stuff
Things I don't understand
They learn how to never say I have enough
Just grab all you can with both hands.

In that little school in the next village over
They children asked why when the doors were all closed
And the government said Mr Tepper must get what he's owed

Well now and again, the fine Mr Tepper turns up on Bloomberg TV
He'll talk of the Stealers, he might even sing you a song
Where other bond holders might show some respect
A glimmer of guilt for a million lives wrecked
Not Mr Tepper, he'll brag and he'll boast all day long

Of great credit stories, of playing the game,
Of annexing countries with ease
How he and his army just won't be crammed down
How people are brought to their knees

So when you look out at your fine ocean view
Beyond the horizon we're thinking of you
Cos the government says Mr Tepper must get what he's due......

credits

from Oblivious, released March 17, 2017
Vocals, harmonies, piano, string arrangements - Mick Blake
Interview with David Tepper courtesy of Bloomberg TV

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Mick Blake Leitrim Village, Ireland

Mick Blake is a singer/songwriter based in County Leitrim. His songs have a strong message, covering topics such as social injustice, inequality and war.

His song “Oblivious” was covered by Christy Moore, and appears on Moore’s latest album, “Lily”. ... more

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