This Morning's Verse

Gather 'round and listen close, the paper's fresh today Down in Washington, the same old games they play A man in a suit draws a line in the sand For the soul of the budget, for the fate of the land They shout 'cross the aisle with a righteous decree But the words sound like echoes from a history I heard from my father, and his father from him Just a new coat of paint on an old, weary whim. Oh, the sun comes up and the headlines they burn

Another new chapter, another sharp turn But the ink always fades on the story they spin It's the same river flowing, we're all wading in From the halls of the powerful to the dust on your shoes It's just this morning's verse for the age-old news. The numbers came down, they whisper and fret About the price of your bread and the weight of your debt A dollar ain't a dollar from a week to the next The market's a fever, leaving everyone vexed

A mother counts pennies for a gallon of gas Hoping the good times they swore in will last They promise prosperity, a golden new age But it's the same empty wallet on a different page. Oh, the sun comes up and the headlines they burn Another new chapter, another sharp turn But the ink always fades on the story they spin It's the same river flowing, we're all wading in From the halls of the powerful to the dust on your shoes

It's just this morning's verse for the age-old news. The sky turns to orange from a fire in the west While the ghosts in the wire are put to the test They're building a mind out of lightning and code Another new god for a heavy-worn road We look for salvation in a screen's pale light And forget the real storm that is gathering night. Oh, the sun comes up and the headlines they burn Another new chapter, another sharp turn

But the ink always fades on the story they spin It's the same river flowing, we're all wading in From the halls of the powerful to the dust on your shoes It's just this morning's verse for the age-old news.