Every Man a King (song)

"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. 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.

Origin
The phrase "Every man a king, but no one wears a crown" was adopted from Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan. Long also used the phrase as a political slogan and as the name of his autobiography.

Lyrics
"Why weep or slumber America? Land of brave and true With castles, and clothing, and food for all All belongs to you Every man a king! Every man a king! For you can be a millionaire But there's something belonging to others There's enough for all people to share When it's sunny June and December too Or in the wintertime or spring There'll be peace without end! Every neighbor a friend With every man a king!"

Recordings
The song was recorded by the Louisiana Boys in January 1935 (Bluebird B-5840) and again by the Louisiana Ramblers in October 1935, just a few weeks after Long's death (Decca 5151).

Singer-songwriter Randy Newman recorded the song on his 1974 album Good Old Boys.