[Verse 1]
In Article Two they hand him a sword made of clauses,
Commander of soldiers, but Congress controls the pauses,
He signs or he vetoes, one stroke of the pen,
Sends the bill back bruised to the Hill again,
But two-thirds of the House, two-thirds of the Senate crew,
Can override his no and push the whole thing through.
[Chorus]
Non è un re, è un presidente,
Solo un uomo con pazienza e la mente,
Il potere di persuadere, non di comandare,
Articolo Due gli dà la spada, ma deve parlare —
(He's got the sword, but talk is the art)
Persuasion, not power, that's the president's heart.
[Verse 2]
Richard Neustadt said the muscle ain't might,
It's the midnight phone call, the whisper done right,
He's gotta charm a senator, flatter the press,
'Cause orders alone will just end in a mess,
Presidential power's a bargain, a courtship, a plea —
Convince, don't command, that's the real decree.
[Chorus]
Non è un re, è un presidente,
Solo un uomo con pazienza e la mente,
Il potere di persuadere, non di comandare,
Articolo Due gli dà la spada, ma deve parlare —
Persuasion, not power, written plain on the chart,
Neustadt knew the Oval Office runs on art.
[Verse 3]
Seventy-three, Schlesinger rang out the alarm,
"Imperial presidency," a crown disguised as calm,
Nixon's war kept growing past the Capitol's sight,
So Congress wrote the War Powers Act that very night —
Sixty days to report, then bring the soldiers back home,
A leash on the commander, he can't war alone.
[Bridge]
Now presidents sign orders like a diary at dawn,
Dodging the gridlock when Congress stalls on and on,
Claiming "unitary executive," the branch is his domain,
Every agency, every rule, running through his vein —
Scholars warn, too much president, too little debate,
Presidentialism's peril — a monarchy in a modern state,
While parliaments can topple a premier with one vote,
Our president just sails on in his four-year boat.
[Verse 4]
Nine robes in marble wait to check his command,
Marbury's shadow still falls across the land,
He names the judges, but the Senate holds the key,
Advice and consent — no coronation, you see,
The courts can strike his order down like a line in the sand,
Three branches locked in dance, no king's upper hand,
Federalist Seventy sold us energy in the chief,
But Madison built fences so no branch runs past belief.
[Chorus]
Non è un re, è un presidente,
Solo un uomo con pazienza e la mente,
Il potere di persuadere, non di comandare,
Articolo Due gli dà la spada, ma deve parlare —
Persuasion, not power — remember that part,
It's the beating, bargaining Oval Office heart.
[Outro]
Articolo Due, Neustadt's voice, Schlesinger's warning sign,
Executive power walking a paper-thin line,
Potere di persuadere — ricorda sempre così,
Capisci la presidenza? Dimmi di sì.