Solid as Barack: Ashord & Simpson's Solid as Barack (lyrics video)

The "Solid as Barack" lyrics started out as a people's song, but after SNL did the "Solid as Barack" parody, composers Ashford and Simpson decided to rework the lyrics. After all, they didn't want their 1984 hit (Solid) to be revived in a comedic tone. As a result, "Solid" has been transformed into "Solid as Barack", a tribute to incoming US President Barack Obama and a single to be released in time for the inauguration.

While running through a medley of the duo's hits during a concert in Los Angeles five months ago, Ashford and Simpson were surprised when they turned the microphone to the audience. Instead of singing

"solid as a rock" for the song's chorus, the audience shouted "solid as Barack"! An audience in their New York show did the same thing several nights later, and this was picked up by the media, with some newspapers mentioning it is their articles and columns.

Apparently, SNL writers heard about the song too. About a month later, Saturday Night Live (SNL) did a parody of Barack Obama's live pre-election, thirty minute, prime time television commercial. Instead of talking politics, however, "Barack Obama" and "Michelle Obama" (played by comedians Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph) hosted a variety show and sang "Solid (as Barack)". According to Ashford and Simpson, they saw what Saturday Night Live did and thought it was okay. However, they didn't want their song to be remembered in a comedic tone and decided to rework the lyrics. "We thought it was good," Simpson said. "Nick (Ashford) said 'We ought to put some new lyrics to it. We didn't want it to have a comedic tone to it."

They have since changed the lyrics of "Solid" (as a rock) and turned into "Solid as Barack", a song about love and the firming of a relationship to pay homage to the nation's first African-American president.

"Solid as Barack" opens with the following lyrics: "And for love's sake, he decided to make a promise to us all," the song starts. "And when he wrote 'The Audacity of Hope,' we could make a change. Here's for a higher plane. We'll build it up, and build it up, and build it up, and now we're solid . . . solid as Barack . . . . A new day dawning, the future looks, hot, hot, hot, hot!"

The complete "Solid as Barack" lyrics aren't available online yet but will be posted on this page as soon as possible. Please check back for it. For now, here is the "Solid as Barack" video tribute with the Ashford and Simpson song playing in the background. You can also listen to the MP3 version of "Solid as Barack" here.

Solid as Barack: "Solid as Barack" video tribute

For the curious in you (the younger ones who weren't even born yet when the song came out), here's how the original song sounded, composed and performed by Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, popularly known as Ashford and Simpson.

Ashford & Simpson's "Solid (as a Rock)" video