An American Appetite

Schools all compete now
The kids will grow into their crowns
And teachers hang their frowns
From the walls of delis across town
From speech incoherent
They make out some terms of endearment
Words however frequent
Assure them of their achievement

Hell, they stand near it
It cries but they do not hear it
For they do not fear it
They stand with the holy spirit
And in it's protection
No harm will come to them or their children
That old time religion
It's good enough for them

I said I'm leaving this town
The people here they just keep me down
She asked how is it anybody keeps you down
When you choose to live so close to the ground
I said I've only ever acted sincerely
I've cried so loud and they just don't hear me
She said open your eyes your not seeing clearly
The people of this town love you dearly
I said I do not require permission
From their old superstition
She asked well if you've got so much ambition
How do you plan to break their tradition
I said the words that I invent
Will be heard someday in every accent
She said poeta nascitur non fit
But I did not know what that meant

From their seats some lips repeat
The poetry of a football coach
With rolling drums and big country strums
And from a float the champions approach

Well I learned my lesson
I guess I really learned my lesson
I never should've dropped out of college

News is starting to spread all over town
A kid went swimming in the river that's where he drowned
Apparently a dead tree on the bank fell down
I mean it must've weighed at least nine-hundred pounds
And when it landed in the water it pinned him down
And there was no body else around
No way for him to make any kind of sound
No way to draw attention, no way to be found
And now they're putting him in the ground
And at the funeral everybody's standing around
Waiting for someone to say something profound
And so they find the smartest guy and they surround
Him as he tells them to remember that "time is round
And it rolls quickly" and though tragedy may confound
The light of the lord astonishes and astounds
To this Earth we are not bound

Well I learned my lesson
Everybody learned a valuable lesson