Pulaski Marching Band: Union Song or Polka?

The Pulaski Marching Band was selected to participate in the Rose Parade on Monday.

The band performed "On Wisconsin" and "Red Wing Polka."

Watch:



Unfortunately, the band members and Pulaski High School weren't able to enjoy the honor of their televised performance. Instead, a Daily Kos blogger politicized it.

She didn't hear "Red Wing Polka." She heard "Union Maid." Of course, the Leftists and anti-Scott Walker loons praised the band for using their moment in the national spotlight to stick it to Wisconsin's governor.

Read comments from the Leftists on the YouTube posting of the band's Rose Parade performance.

Some examples:

Great representation by Pulaski marching band to show solidarity with the working people of Wisconsin, who have suffered 5 consecutive months of the highest job loss in the US than any other State.

Union Maid is an inspiring song.

We love you Pulaski marching band.

Recall Scott Walker and save Wisconsin.

taoM7 1 day ago 12
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Wow, that took some chutzpah! Great going, Pulaski! Pass this video link around! Maybe one of the MSNBC shows will pick this up as a human-interest filler...

L188188 1 day ago

The Walker haters wallowed in what they interpreted as a political statement by the band.

Officials at Pulaski High School say the Leftist blogger blew it. She was wrong. The band didn't stick it to Walker. The kids performed a polka, not a protest song.

WBAY has the story:

Students on the Pulaski High School Red Raider marching band were back in class Wednesday after an exciting performance in the Tournament of Roses Parade in California.

But controversy followed them home, as a blogger interprets one of the songs they played as political. School officials, however, disagree.

Almost 200 Pulaski band members and their chaperones returned Tuesday night in several groups. The last arrived around midnight.

They spent the last week in southern California sightseeing and then marching in the 2012 Rose Parade in Pasadena.

For the young musicians, their performance was one of their proudest moments.

"We just put so much work into it," saxophone player Jake Herning said, "and then when we finally got to it and done with it, it was a really big accomplishment."

"It was really nerve racking. It was just an awesome experience. And I'm glad to be back but I wish I was still in California, because it was just awesome," tuba player Beth Verhuiden said.

But others saw it as a controversial, political statement. A blog post about the message behind the marching band's Rose Parade performance has gone viral.

Blogger Annie Jo, who writes entries for the liberal web site Daily Kos, praised the band in a post Tuesday for playing what she heard as the song "Union Maid" outside the grand stand on the parade route.

It's a pro-union song by folk singer Woody Guthrie. Lyrics include "You can't scare me/ I'm sticking to the union/ I'm sticking to the union till the day I die."

...But Pulaski School Superintendent Mel Lightner says the band was actually playing "Red Wing Polka," a song representative of Pulaski's Polish heritage, and they had no intention of making any kind of statement.

In fact, when word of the blog post got back to Pulaski's superintendent, he was shocked someone would try to make a special moment for the students political.

"It's absolutely false that that happened. Nothing further from the truth," he said.

Lightner adds the song was innocently chosen by the band director because it's his grandmother's favorite polka. The band had no other motives.

"(Band Director Tom) Busch, our fantastic and fabulous director, did not even know there were lyrics added by Woody Guthrie to this melody, apparently in the 1940s," Lightner said.

Video.



It's too bad the band's performance became a controversial headache for the school rather than a highlight.

Listening to Lightner, I think he's telling the truth. I don't think his explanation is an excuse to cover up a sleazy attack on Governor Walker.

I hope that's the case. There doesn't appear to have been an attempt to slip in a political message via the band's appearance in the parade.

It's not like when The Roots played "Lyin' Ass Bitch" to introduce Michele Bachmann when she was a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. That was a cruel stunt meant to demean her. Drummer Questlove, an Obama fan, bragged about it on Twitter.

I assume Tom Busch didn't put out a Tweet saying he really did intend to slam Walker. If it was intentional, he's not a great director.

Bitter political statements don't belong at a celebration like the Rose Parade. I assume Tom Busch knows that.