Welcome to the home page for The Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld, the unusual and timely new songs whose lyrics are direct quotes from the Secretary's Pentagon briefings and interviews. Set to music by San Francisco composer Bryant Kong, the texts were previously arranged into poems by columnist Hart Seely and published in a popular book, Pieces of Intelligence, in 2003.

The Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld is attracting worldwide attention, with features on CNN and National Public Radio's Morning Edition; in the San Francisco Chronicle and Associated Press; and in television, radio, and print in North America, Europe, and Asia including the BBC.

If you think of Rumsfeld as a character in a Gulf Wars II musical, these are the songs he might sing. The seven songs show the Secretary not only holding forth from his press podium, but in introspective moments as well. These opposing moods are the natural results of the situation in which Rumsfeld finds himself: he is trying to sell a story that can't be sold.

Set in a variety of musical forms, the songs are written in an accessible style based in classical music, with strong popular influences from cabaret to pop music. The words to “The Unknown” are now classic (“As we know, there are known knowns…”). “Happenings” includes words now spoken by Rumsfeld in the new film, Fahrenheit 9/11 ("You get told things every day that don't happen..."). Other songs include a waltz and even a Baroque aria.

The Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld is an expression of Stuffed Penguin's goal to update classical music and make it accessible to a broader audience. We believe that art must address the themes of the day to remain vibrant and relevant.
 

 
Read the lyrics and listen to sound clips of The Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld.

Find out more about the full CD and its twenty fresh American art songs.
Browse our worldwide media coverage.
Musicians: Read about and purchase the Rumsfeld sheet music.