The Headline Ballad

The jury's filed back in the room in a town of steel and glass A former king with a golden name, his shadow on the past They read the counts out one by one, a whisper then a roar Thirty-four times the paper cried what no one's heard before A payment made in hush of night, a story bought and sold Now a felony's the final word, a chapter to unfold Oh, the headlines spin a tangled thread for the modern man to see

But it's just a tale of pride and fall, old as the cypress tree The names will change, the years will fade, the ink will surely dry But the human heart's the same old song beneath the same old sky Down in the Texas plains the sun, it beats a brazen drum The power grid just groans and sighs, the cool relief won't come The mercury's a fever dream, a number on the news Another record broken now, for folks with dusty shoes

They say the dome of heat is here, a heavy, burning crown While the Earth she breathes a fiery sigh on a tired, thirsty town Oh, the headlines spin a tangled thread for the modern man to see But it's just a tale of pride and fall, old as the cypress tree The names will change, the years will fade, the ink will surely dry But the human heart's the same old song beneath the same old sky The men who watch the money lines, they speak of cuts and rates

While a family counts their dollars out and ponders on their fates One man's verdict, one town's heat, the cost to stay afloat It's all the same old river's current rocking the same old boat Oh, the headlines spin a tangled thread for the modern man to see But it's just a tale of pride and fall, old as the cypress tree The names will change, the years will fade, the ink will surely dry But the human heart's the same old song beneath the same old sky