The Deep State
It’s the Deep State.
— Operating behind the scenes.
It’s why you need a license for a big machine.
You don’t cut corners, man, if you’re smart.
Better think twice before you take it apart!
It’s the Deep State.
— Turns out it might be your friend.
— Turns out a lot of things depend.
— Some saying it’s got to end,
But why not stepping up, to defend?
Keeps the airplanes in the air. C
Keeps the highways in repair. Em
Everybody ought to pay their share. Am
Your house is on fire, baby, someone’s there! B7
It’s the Deep State.
— About time that we understood.
— It’s the reason your money’s good.
— Do without it if you dare.
Need a lot of experts everywhere.
It’s the Deep State.
— It ain’t what you think.
— It ain’t all red ink.
©Doug Hendren 2025
What’s it about? This song is partly a tongue-in-cheek reference to the 2017 conspiracy theory of a “deep state” of political enemies spread by Steve Bannon and other right-wing ideologues associated with the Trump regime. Some of the more colorful spin-offs included QAnon, the Pizzagate episode, and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s assertions about “Jewish space lasers.”
It is certainly true that any complex, modern state has considerable bureaucratic inertia (including military, civil or intelligence agencies). It is also true that our FBI and CIA have for decades operated outside of the American public’s awareness.* However, there has never been any credible evidence to support the notion of a shadowy organization of elites secretly controlling government policies behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, the carnival atmosphere of rampant disinformation has bred widespread suspicion of our government, and widespread acceptance of the idea that large portions of our federal government need to be dismantled, which is now being carried out at lightning speed by the GOP, largely following the blueprint of the infamous Project 2025.
All that said, there is another aspect to “The Deep State” that deserves our respect, and that is what this song is about. In our complex society, we need all sorts of experts in all sorts of areas to make things run. As a surgical specialist, for example, I had eleven years of education and training after college, and had to take regular continuing education to maintain a license to practice.
Plenty of professions have rigorous standards, and keeping up quality control and monitoring is part of what the bureaucratic state does to maintain excellence. Building codes, and quality control in manufacturing do the same, in both private and public sectors. The “deep state” makes sure your food and water are safe. It makes sure truck drivers and air traffic controllers are not sleeping on the job. There is a lot going on underground and behind the scenes. It’s not perfect, and it’s always vulnerable to corruption. But a lot of what appears to be red tape is there for a reason. Think twice before throwing them out!
*For a superb account of J. Edgar Hoover’s secret FBI history, see “The Burglary,” by Betty Medsger. For an overview of various CIA operations over the years, see Stephen Kinser’s Overthrow, or any of his many detailed accounts.
More “Deep State” references
State secrecy explains the origins of the ‘Deep State’ conspiracy theory. Kathryn Olmsted & Simon Willmetts, Scientific American 2-6-24
Misinformation has created a new world disorder. Claire Wardle,Scientific American 9-1-19
Forbidden history: CIA censorship, The Invisible Government, and the origins of the “deep state” conspiracy theory. Simon Willmetts, Taylor & Francis Online, 1-9-24
