In 1859, Joshua Abraham Norton of San Francisco declared himself Emperor of the United States. Despite having no actual political power, he wore a regal uniform, gave speeches, issued decrees, and even printed his own currency. By the end of his life, he had managed to attract enough of a following that when nearly 30,000 people attended his funeral.

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Here I’ve written a little synthpop song setting three of his proclamations:

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1. “Being desirous of allaying the dissensions of party strife now existing within our realm, I do hereby dissolve and abolish the Democratic and Republican parties.” (August 12, 1869)

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2. “Whoever after due and proper warning shall be heard to utter the abominable word ‘Frisco,’ which has no linguistic or other warrant, shall be deemed guilty of a High Misdemeanor.” (1872, possibly apocryphal)

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3. “WE do hereby abolish Congress, and it is therefore abolished.” (October 12, 1859)

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Matt Marks and Mellissa Hughes performed the original version of Emperor Norton Makes a Proclamation on a politically-themed concert shortly before the 2010 midterm elections. The version below is a 2016 revision that I wrote for myself and Kayleigh Butcher.