The Headlines' Hum

Two old men on a lighted stage To turn a new and worried page One’s words were sharp, the other slow A tale the television showed They talked of borders, tax, and war Like a hundred men have done before And the headlines hum a low refrain Of summer heat and coming rain It’s the same old story, I suppose The way the weary river flows The common folk just try to stand

And hold the truth inside their hand The High Court judges, robed and gray Took a settled law and turned it 'way On a rifle's rhythm, quick and grim A right was stretched out on a limb The gavel fell, a quiet sound That echoes out on troubled ground And the headlines hum a low refrain Of summer heat and coming rain It’s the same old story, I suppose The way the weary river flows

The common folk just try to stand And hold the truth inside their hand From coast to coast, the air is thick The sun beats down, a heavy brick A fever settles on the plains While Washington just plays its games The earth itself begins to sigh Beneath a hot and heavy sky And the headlines hum a low refrain Of summer heat and coming rain It’s the same old story, I suppose

The way the weary river flows The common folk just try to stand And hold the truth inside their hand