SIMI VALLEY : Singer Has a Tune for the President

Rick Tucker, a Simi Valley country-and-Western singer, has written and recorded a song especially for President Bush titled--yep, you guessed it--�Read My Lips.�

Chances are the President won’t care to sing along with this tune, a sobering account of those Americans who have fallen on hard times as a result of the worsening economy.

The lyrics go like this:

“This is no recession

“It’s a full-fledged depression

“And Mr. Bush, it’s not OK

“To lead us any longer

“You must help us get stronger

“Read our lips

“And hear what we say

“Read our lips

“And help us today

“Read our lips

“Or be on your way.�

“It’s a wake-up call for President Bush,� Tucker said of the song, which he plans to market himself to radio stations and record stores nationwide. Tucker, 53, said he recently sent a copy of the song to Bush. He said the song will also be played at a campaign rally for presidential candidate H. Ross Perot Wednesday in Sherman Oaks.

“I just keep hearing all these things about how the recession is over, and I can’t help but look around and see all these businesses folding,� Tucker said. “Everywhere you look people are being laid off.�

When he’s not singing in honky-tonks around Ventura County, Tucker works during the day as a groundskeeper for the Conejo Recreation and Park District. He said over the years that he has recorded several records and has sung onstage with Hank Williams Jr., Farron Young and Willie Nelson.