The Traveler's Song

The autumn wind blows 'cross the Capitol grounds Another year, I know these worried sounds The clock on the wall ticks a rhythm of dread For a thousand new promises, cold and unsaid They're drawing their lines on the government's floor Over fights that their fathers have fought here before To keep the lights on or to let the gears fall While the country outside holds its breath through it all. Oh, the headlines they shout, and the pundits they weep But the stories are old, and the currents run deep It's power and money, it's struggle and pride

With a new coat of paint on the things they can't hide Just another verse in this traveler's song Where we've all been before, and we all sing along. Down on the line in the heart of Detroit The air's full of feelings they have to exploit The UAW stands in the rain and the sun For a battle their grandfathers thought they had won Against the Big Three, with their profits so tall They're asking their share before the first leaves of fall A fair day's wages, a promise to keep While the engine of commerce is put back to sleep.

Oh, the headlines they shout, and the pundits they weep But the stories are old, and the currents run deep It's power and money, it's struggle and pride With a new coat of paint on the things they can't hide Just another verse in this traveler's song Where we've all been before, and we all sing along. And a ghost in the wires has started to learn A new kind of thinking at every turn They talk of the future that AI will build While the fears of the past are the ones that are filled From the hand on the hammer to the code on the screen

It's the same human question: what does it all mean? Oh, the headlines they shout, and the pundits they weep But the stories are old, and the currents run deep It's power and money, it's struggle and pride With a new coat of paint on the things they can't hide Just another verse in this traveler's song Where we've all been before, and we all sing along.