Love Me I'm Your Landlord, song lyrics

Song: Love Me I'm Your Landlord
Lyrics: Dale Cohen & Hugh McGuinness⁽¹⁾

Music: to the tune of Phil Ochs' "Love Me I'm a Liberal"
Year: 1981
Genre:
Country: USA

I remember when I was a tenant,
I remember the strife and the pain;
I swore to reform the system,
That produced such ill-gotten gain,
So now that I'm your landlord,
You've no reason left to complain –
So, love me, love me, love me,
I'm your landlord!
This song was originally posted on protestsonglyrics.net
I helped form the first tenants union,
For that I should get a gold star;
I love each one of my tenants,
I even lend them my car;
But this talk about rent control,
That's going a bit too far -
So, love me, love me, love me,
I'm your landlord!
This song was originally posted on protestsonglyrics.net
I cried when my tenants had no heat,
Tears ran down my spine;
I mourned when that old furnace broke down,
As though I'd lost a grandparent of mine;
But, you know, they had it coming,
When they were late with the rent last time -
So, love me, love me, love me,
I'm your landlord!

I cheered when old Epstein⁽³⁾ was rent struck,
My faith in the system restored;
And I'm glad that Trony⁽⁴⁾ went bankrupt,
They charged rents no one could afford,
And I love each one of my tenants,
But I hope that they don't move next door -
So, love me, love me, love me,
I'm your landlord!
This song was originally posted on protestsonglyrics.net
Oh, those people who work for McKinley,
Should all hang their heads in shame;
I don't understand how their minds work –
Property maintenance is part of the game;
But if you ask me to roll back my rents,
I'll have the cops take down your name -
So, love me, love me, love me,
I'm your landlord!

Notes:

1 - Tenant organizers from the university town of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

2 - The Ann Arbor Tenants Union was created in 1968, mostly by students from the University of Michigan, to coordinate a city-wide rent strike that started with 12,000 tenants and lasted two years. At that time about 90% of rental units did not meet the City Housing Code. The group organized more rent strikes from 1975-1977 and again in 1985. An archival version of the former website for the Ann Arbor Tenants Union, from 2002.

3 - Edith Epstein and her company Reliable Realty, in Ann Arbor Michigan.

4 - Trony-Sunrise Associates, another landlord.

5 - McKinley Properties and McKinley Associates.