Mercedes Benz (song)
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"Mercedes Benz", also known as "The Politician", is an a cappella song by Janis Joplin, in which she asks the "Lord" to buy her a Mercedes-Benz, a color TV, and a "night on the town".
Note that the song title, as listed on the album Pearl (1971), contains no hyphen; the automobile brand name is hyphenated.
Joplin wrote "Mercedes Benz" together with the poet Michael McClure and Bob Neuwirth, as a social commentary on how people relate happiness to money and material possessions. In the song she asks God to give her the things she has "earned".
In 1995, Mercedes-Benz used the song in commercials for their cars. Joplin's step-sister owned the rights to the song and allowed Mercedes to use it. In 2007, Mercedes-Benz once again used this song in a commercial.
In addition, a commercial for the BMW Z3 had the driver listening to the tape, frowning after Mercedes-Benz was mentioned, and throwing the tape out of the car after the Porsche quote.
The song references "Dialing for Dollars", which refers to an old segment carried on many local TV shows, which required one to be watching the show in order to win.
[edit] Cover versions
In 1992, French Canadian pop star Mitsou recorded a dance-pop cover version of the song on her EP Heading West.
In 1995 a cover was made by a Dutch pop/dance band T-Spoon.
In 1998 former Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist Gilby Clarke included a version of the song on his allbum Rubber.
In 2000 a remix was made and included on Greatest Hits collections of Joplin. While the original song was a cappella, the remix added a beat. Joplin's singing voice was left untouched, played against a background melody.
In 2001, the key line, music and all, "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz", was interpellated into a chorus of bar patrons in the Sven-David Sandström-Claes Fellbom opera, Jeppe: The Cruel Comedy, fully orchestrated and in multipart harmony.
