The Same Old Story

In a New York courtroom, the gavels did fall On a man who once built a golden wall Thirty-four counts, the jury did read For a silent promise and a hidden deed A king in the papers, a first for the land His fate for the summer in a judge's hand Oh, the wheel of fortune, it turns and it grinds Leaving old headlines for new ones to find The names all may change, the dates fade away

But it's the same old story I'm singing today Down on the border where the Rio runs low A new order's coming, a new wind will blow Two thousand five hundred a day is the line They're closing the book with a new-written sign For the hopeful, the tired, the ones in the dust A paper decree from a house full of trust Oh, the wheel of fortune, it turns and it grinds Leaving old headlines for new ones to find

The names all may change, the dates fade away But it's the same old story I'm singing today One man in a courthouse, another in the sun One's race has been judged, one's has just begun The ink on the law book, the heat on the plain It's all just the rhythm of power and pain And the sun beats on Texas, a merciless eye The rivers run shallow, the wellsprings run dry The old folks will tell you it's never been so

As the mercury climbs and the hot winds just blow A fever is rising all over the ground But there ain't a new cure to be found Oh, the wheel of fortune, it turns and it grinds Leaving old headlines for new ones to find The names all may change, the dates fade away But it's the same old story I'm singing today