i broke the vase
you gave me
the vase that
had survived
i sat down
for a minute
i thought that
i would cry
i just thought
about you
didn’t hurt so much
as before
the vase was
not our love
i didn’t need it
any more
For twenty-seven years
I worked the ‘ssembly line
Till traders bought the company
And robbed my pension blind
They crated up the factory
And shipped it overseas
Left fifteen thousand workers
Blowing in the breeze
Been outta work so long
I don’t know what to do
Been double-dealt and curb-kicked
Till my hide is black and blue
Filthy politicians
Say they love the working man
Seeking bribes and kickbacks
From stockbroker hand
Thievin’ doublecrossers
Drove this country off a cliff
Ain’t no golden parachute
For the working stiff
Been outta work so long
I don’t know what to do
Been double-dealt and curb-kicked
Till my hide is black and blue
The folks who run this country
Would sell they mamas’ soul
For a thousand votes
Or thirty bits of gold
The Dream that was America
Is swirling down the drain
This country used to build things
Now we manufacture pain
Been outta work so long
I don’t know what to do
Been double-dealt and curb-kicked
Till my hide is black and blue
Ever’body got a gift
And I was born to see
Other people’s problems
It’s my spesh-ee-al-i-tee
I’m just here to help them
Be the best they’ll ever be
Got so much time to do it
Cuz there’s nothing wrong with me
My daddy is a sweetheart
But he likes to take a swig
He lives to serve his country
When he ain’t in the brig
And you know I love my mama
Despite everywhere she been
And all my friends and neighbors
Are such paragons of sin:
Sarah is a diva,
Lester is a drunk
Harold is a pervert,
And a weasel and a punk
They tell me “mind your business”
But I know it’s bunk
They pretend that they’re all rosy
When they really smell like skunk
Ever’body got a gift
And I was born to see
Other people’s problems
It’s my spesh-ee-al-i-tee
An Egyptian river is
Where I ought to be
Thinking about you
Replaces thinking about me
We all know it’s tragic When a lover gets the boot Sometimes it’s no biggie Sometimes it’s acute I’ve seen guys who got whupped For bein’ Passion’s slave And quite a few that drunk themselves To an early grave But I ain’t seen’ nuthin’ Like my buddy Billy Ray He rewrote the Book of Crazy When his woman run away With his little brother On his thirty-third birthday…
He hunts grizzlies with a penknife He cleans his pistols with his tongue He rassles crocodiles He eats salads made of dung He wears a barb wire choker He pours gunpowder on eggs He takes shooters of Tabasco He drinks malt liquor by the keg
He don’t just look sick to me The dude is downright victimy Won’t live to see the next full moon If he don’t get some help real soon