Kid Pan Alley founder Paul Reiser has taken full responsibility for the song “Part of the 99,” written and performed by third-graders at Woodbrook Elementary in October.
Reiser, who also serves as the group’s artistic director, facilitated the workshop at the Albemarle County public school that produced the song.
In a release from Kid Pan Alley, Reiser said he should not have introduced certain language into the song.
“This is a song about being satisfied with what you have — a song about how life has its ups and downs, as so many people in our country are experiencing now,” he said in the release. “It was my personal mistake to introduce these phrases and I take complete responsibility for it. I will not make a mistake like this again.”
“Part of the 99” raised eyebrows earlier this month after conservative bloggers and a writer for Fox News took exception to the song’s lyrics, which glorify the Occupy movement.
Kid Pan Alley Executive Director Pat Rogers told The Daily Progress that the group has changed its guidelines for songwriting facilitators to make sure politically charged lyrics don’t slip by in the future.
According to Rogers, “Part of the 99” is the first song the group has helped elementary school students write that has caused concern. In the release, the group said it has helped more than 30,000 students write 2,000 songs in the last 12 years.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement