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Elton John

'Tiny Dancer' will never be the same after you hear 'Hold Me Closer, Bernie Sanders'

Shane Nyman
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

New York musician Mel Flannery and her husband, Danny Sher have put their talents into "Hold Me Closer, Bernie Sanders," a song that's a Sanders-centric take on the Elton John classic "Tiny Dancer."

Flannery, Sher and a few friends — who for this venture have called themselves Punned It (get it?) — wrote and recorded the song on Sunday, "when everybody else was watching the Super Bowl," Flannery said. They timed its release for after the New Hampshire primary.

"We wanted to give those feeling the Bern something to celebrate with," Flannery said.

Here's a sampling of the lyrics:

You’re the closer, Bernie Sanders
Fix the wage gap, schools and highways
End the school-to-prison pipeline
And bring the troops back home today

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Flannery fronts Mixtape (dubbed "a cover band for hipsters") and also leads the original band Mel Flannery Trucking Co. The idea for the song came after a Mixtape gig. "Tiny Dancer" was on and Sher sang along, subbing the presidential candidate's name in the chorus. It got some laughs and they ran with it from there.

"It's a tribute to both Bernie and Elton John and made out of love and adoration for both," Flannery said.

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