The Headline Ballad

Gather 'round and listen close, the wires hum a brand new tune 'Bout a king who faced the law beneath a hazy June In a tower made of glass and steel, on Manhattan's isle A former president did stand to face a felony trial Thirty-four the charges read, a jury spoke the word The first time in the nation's life a story so absurd For records kept in shadow ink, a payment in the dark The verdict landed on the stone and left a lasting mark.

Oh, the headlines scream in black and white, the screen it glows so blue But I've heard this song a thousand times, and I'll sing it back to you The names will change, the dates will spin, the reasons rearrange But the turning of the human heart, it never seems to change. Down along the southern dust, a new decree was signed A line is drawn across the sand for all the weary kind The White House spoke of numbers high, a tide they must turn back An order sealed to stem the flow along the desert track

They talk of rules and politics, of what is right and wrong But every face that seeks the gate just brings another song Of hunger, fear, and hope that burns, a journey hard and long And a door that opens, then it shuts, where futures don't belong. Oh, the headlines scream in black and white, the screen it glows so blue But I've heard this song a thousand times, and I'll sing it back to you The names will change, the dates will spin, the reasons rearrange But the turning of the human heart, it never seems to change.

The sun beats down on Texas ground, the fever's getting high The price of bread and gasoline, they climb into the sky The people watch the mercury rise, they watch the market fall And wonder who is listening to their solitary call. Oh, the headlines scream in black and white, the screen it glows so blue But I've heard this song a thousand times, and I'll sing it back to you The names will change, the dates will spin, the reasons rearrange But the turning of the human heart, it never seems to change.