Donald Trump's administration has been slammed by the band Semisonic for using their hit song 'Closing Time' in a controversial deportation video shared on social media
The White House and Border Patrol's official Instagram accounts posted a video showing agents searching undocumented immigrants before deportation, set to the group's 1998 track
19 March 2025
Their post was captioned with lyrics from the song, reading: "'You don't have to go home but you can't stay here' @borderpatrol."
Minneapolis-based band Semisonic has now responded to the use of their music in a statement to DailyMail.com.
They said: "We did not authorise or condone the White House's use of our song in any way. And no, they didn't ask.
"The song is about joy and possibilities and hope, and they have missed the point entirely."
The track was written by frontman Dan Wilson, 63, who has previously spoken about its meaning.
In a 2018 interview with Billboard, the musician explained 'Closing Time' was partially inspired by the birth of his daughter, Coco.
He said: "The guys wanted a new song to close our sets with. I thought 'Closing Time' would be a good title.
"We had spent seven years of our lives at that point, four nights a week entertaining people. That was our life.
Some bouncers yelling things, closing time coming, all that imagery - literally, that's how the song started.
"And then when I was halfway done, I started realising the whole thing was a pun about being born, so I just made sure that the rest of the thing could ride with that double meaning. But nobody got the joke and I didn't bother to explain. I thought everyone would get it."
Dan has continued a successful career in songwriting and co-wrote the Grammy Award-winning 2011 Adele track 'Someone Like You'.
'Closing Time' became a major hit in the late 1990s, reaching number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and charting in the top 50 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
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