The Ballad of the Ballot and the Robe

The March winds blow a worried sound From dusty plains to coastal towns The people line up, one by one Beneath a cold and early sun They talk of Super Tuesday's choice Each faction with a hopeful voice The screen's all lit with red and blue A story old, a story new Oh, the ballot and the judge's robe Spin the fate of this wide globe The ink is dry, the vote is cast The future's coming, way too fast And the storyteller sings his tune Beneath a weary afternoon

I've seen this river rise and fall And I've heard this very call From Colorado came the plea To strike a name from history Said the Fourteenth's text is plain and clear No rebel's name can stand for here But nine in black robes shook their head And with one voice, the ruling read That power's not for a state to hold A story Congress must unfold Oh, the ballot and the judge's robe Spin the fate of this wide globe The ink is dry, the vote is cast The future's coming, way too fast

And the storyteller sings his tune Beneath a weary afternoon I've seen this river rise and fall And I've heard this very call Some sighed relief, some cried in rage Just one more turn of a troubled page Is it the law that keeps us bound? Or the shaking of this common ground? It ain't about the single man It's the weaving of the nation's plan A thread you pull, a seam you tear Leaves the whole cloth thin as air Oh, the ballot and the judge's robe Spin the fate of this wide globe

The ink is dry, the vote is cast The future's coming, way too fast And the storyteller sings his tune Beneath a weary afternoon I've seen this river rise and fall And I've heard this very call