"Every Man a King" is a song cowritten by Louisiana's Governor and United States Senator Huey Long and Castro Carazo. Long was known for his political slogan "Every man a king", which is also the title of his 1933 autobiography and the catch-phrase of his Share Our Wealth proposal during the Great Depression.Text of Huey Long's Every Man a King at AmericanRhetoric.com The song's lyrics include the lines "With castles and clothing and food for all / All belongs to you". The song was co-written in 1935 by Huey Long and Castro Carazo, the band director of Louisiana State University, a former orchestra leader at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans brought to LSU by Long himself.LSU Band History from the Louisiana State University website
Origin The phrase "Every man a king, but no one wears a crown" was adopted from Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.Brinkley (2011) , p. 20. Long also used the phrase as a political slogan and as the name of his autobiography.
Lyrics
Recordings The song was recorded by the Louisiana Boys in January 1935 (Bluebird B-5840)Discography of American Historical Recordings: Victor matrix BVE-87696 and again by the Louisiana Ramblers in October 1935, just a few weeks after Long's death (Decca 5151).Discography of American Historical Recordings: Decca matrix 60084
Singer-songwriter Randy Newman recorded the song on his 1974 album Good Old Boys.
References References
Works cited
External links "Every Man a King" at the Tulane University Digital Library