The Same Old Song (This Morning's Verse)

The autumn air is turning thin Another news cycle starts to spin Down in Detroit, the engines are cold A story of the brave and the bold The UAW stands on the line Says the fruit of the labor should be mine Against the giants, the Big Three For a piece of the coming century Oh, the television flickers bright Selling the darkness, selling the light But it's the same old song, a different day Who has to work, and who gets to play The wheels of power grind and groan On muscle, and on blood and bone In Washington, the halls are loud

A well-dressed and anxious crowd They're drawing lines down in the dust In promises you cannot trust The government clock is ticking down The talk of the whole entire town Is who will blink and who will bend And if the paychecks have an end Oh, the television flickers bright Selling the darkness, selling the light But it's the same old song, a different day Who has to work, and who gets to play The wheels of power grind and groan On muscle, and on blood and bone The man at the Fed says 'hold on tight' He's trying to make the numbers right

But a gallon of gas and a loaf of bread Don't care what the morning papers said From the factory floor to the office chair There's a whisper of worry on the air So here I stand with my guitar Beneath a cold and distant star Singing of the picket sign And the Speaker walking a fragile line It's all one story, you see About what it costs a man to be free And I'll be back when the sun is new To sing another verse for you Oh, the television flickers bright Selling the darkness, selling the light But it's the same old song, a different day

Who has to work, and who gets to play The wheels of power grind and groan On muscle, and on blood and bone