|
|
BLAMING THE MESSENGER
WORDS & MUSIC: Earl P. Reinhalter
I. Mercury trips over wings on his feet
and drops his baton like a crucifix.
the thermometer slips, my dreams in retreat:
ninety-eight, ninety-seven, ninety-six point six.
I was tabula rasa
become a slave to a massa.
you can call someone
to fix the weather vane.
it's time to blame
the messenger again.
II. a minute in traffic is a century late
in the glass and the steel of your microscope.
a sympathy laugh at a minor complaint
becomes a report in an envelope.
if the want ads were honest,
they would do what they promised.
they would tell the future,
they would tell the truth:
you will quit, you'll be fired,
you will throw away your youth.
CHORUS: blaming the messenger
is easier than fixing what's wrong.
blaming the messenger
makes you feel so strong.
you can say it was the messenger
blame it on the messenger
every day I hear
the same old song.
you can say it was the messenger
blame it on the messenger
but everybody knows
it was you all along.
everybody knows
you're what's wrong.
(repeat chorus)
ENDING: Ivan Denisovich
is workin' like a son-of-a-bitch.
all the people stop to ask him why.
Ivan Denisovich
says, "I'm building a bridge
over the River Kwai.
that's why.
every beam and trestle
is straight and on the level.
we all do our best,
even for the devil.
that's why."
© Copyright 1994 Earl P. Reinhalter. All Rights Reserved.
|
