It seems that the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, is a Neko Case fan. He appeared on stage to introduce her at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. But don’t hold that against her. Here’s the beginning of her 2000 song, “Thrice All American,” off of Furnace Room Lullaby.
I wanna tell you about my hometown
It’s a dusty jewel in the South Puget Sound
Where the factories churn, and the timber’s all cut down
And life goes slow in TacomaPeople they laugh when they hear you’re from my town
They say it’s a sour and used up old place
I’ve defended its honor, shrugged off the putdowns
They know that you’re poor from Tacoma
The full lyrics are on her web page here.