 The opening track , " Times Is Hard " , features " bleak " lyrics about " nihilism [ being ] used as a tool to remedy social ills " sung to upbeat melodies . Wainwright wrote the song following the inauguration of Barack Obama . " House " is about economics and relationships , and tells the story of a couple wanting to divorce but staying together because they cannot sell their house . In the liner notes , Wainwright admitted that at the time the album was released he " remained relatively unscathed by the New Depression " but owned a house in Southern California that he was unable to sell . " On to Victory , Mr. Roosevelt " and " The Panic Is On " were both originally written during the Great Depression . Circa 1933 , Texas politician W. Lee O 'Daniel wrote and recorded the former . Medicine show performer Hezekiah Jenkins originally wrote and recorded " The Panic Is On " . 
