What could possibly go wrong?
By RebelliousBard
ARCHIVE COMMENTARY
Originally published on the RebelliousBard’s YouTube channel.
First published:
02 August 2026
Running time:
3:45
WHY THIS SONG EXISTS
“What Could Possibly Go Wrong?” was written in the days after Andy Burnham became Prime Minister in July 2026. Watching a convicted fraudster return to high office, a minister previously embroiled in a tax scandal handed the housing brief, a defence secretary with no military background, and a new leader who arrived without a general election mandate, the absurdity was hard to ignore. The song is a bitter, sarcastic snapshot of that moment , a government assembled from the same old faces and the same old problems, asking the only question that seemed left to ask.
Lyrics
New government, same old circus…
What could possibly go wrong?
A convicted fraudster back in the big chair,
Phone that wasn’t stolen, still climbing the stairs.
A woman who underpaid her house tax with a smile,
Now she’s housing secretary
“Hold on, I’ve not finished yet.
Stay a little while.”
Defence minister with no boots on the ground,
Prefers the rainbow hotpants to the khaki around.
And a Prime Minister who got there with twenty thousand votes,
Zero mandate, just a by-election and a few well-placed notes.
They call it a fresh start, they call it a clean slate,
While the country’s still bleeding under the same old weight.
What could possibly go wrong?
A fraudster, a tax dodger, a fashion parade in the M.o.D throng.
A PM with no election, just a coronation song,
What could possibly go wrong?
The ship’s already listing, the crew’s a joke,
What could possibly go wrong… while the country goes broke?
They put the foxes back in charge of the hen house,
Same faces, different titles, same old louse.
Experience optional, integrity on the shelf,
Just keep smiling for the cameras and blame someone else.
The mandate’s missing, the trust is long gone,
But the photo ops keep rolling, the circus goes on.
What could possibly go wrong?…
They say it’s change, they say it’s renewal,
But it’s the same old faces in a brand new costume.
A government built on thin ice and thin air,
What could possibly go wrong… while nobody cares?
What could possibly go wrong?
A fraudster, a tax dodger, a fashion parade in the M.o.D throng.
A PM with no election, just a coronation song,
What could possibly go wrong?
The ship’s already listing, the crew’s a joke,
What could possibly go wrong… while the country goes broke?
What could possibly go wrong…
Hold on, I’ve not finished yet.
Stay a little while.