Secrets

"What do you think is going on here?"
The old man said from his chair
"Do you think this is anything new?
Now look here, son
This is just like it was back in the old days before the last war
Then the politics changed, the scene rearranged
And became how we know now is quo"

"Oh yeah, there were times when everyone smiled and agreed
And the good times would roll
But a heartbeat away was the crime that did pay
The shot that was heard around the world"

"If you go to sleep," the old man explained
"You're just going to miss on your turn
But if you stay awake the path that you take
May in fact become a bridge to be burned"

And the old man turned away (secrets, secrets)
Wiped the sincere from his eyes (secrets, secrets)
"It's already too late," he whispered
"But that's certainly no reason to cry" (dirty little secrets)

"You see, the last pioneer is waving his flag
Framing the organ, bone by bone, burning in sections
Twisting his flag and walking on glass as he is clearing his tomb"
"Yeah, nevertheless, there's no money," said the kid

"Eh well, high-price hookers are watching the math," said the old man
"Prepare to face the music and laugh
Or bring the shadows down on the heads
Of the soft ladies that lie on their mechanical beds"
"Well, nevertheless, there ain't no money," the kid said

"Well, so total the future and rewrite the past," said the old man
"Raise the hammer and stifle the news
Polish the armor and dust off the grass
There's more dead-end options here than we'll ever use"
"But nevertheless, there's no money," said the kid

"Well, hell, there's glitter galore in Italian gold" (secrets, secrets)
"Well, nevertheless, there ain't no money" (secrets, secrets)
"With second-hand hardware all over the world?"
"Hey, nevertheless, there ain't no money" (dirty little secrets)
"Well, listen, tides have turned, the crowd's flooding in"
"Yeah, nevertheless, there ain't no money"

"Hey kid, second class will sell to the valley again" (secrets, secrets)
Don't worry"
"Nevertheless, there ain't no money," said the kid (secrets)
"Well, what do you want me to do about it?"
Said the old man (dirty little secrets)
"I've come up with every argument
I can for the fact that the lawyers
Are leeching the marrow out of the bone
Of anyone who's got an original idea in this country"

"Well, what country are you talking about?" said the kid
"I'm talking about the country where my nephew
Makes honey out of old orange peels
And plastic out of old Band-Aids
I'm talking about a country where the sun never sets

I'm talking about a country where fish
Are the bricks that build the edifices
From which you can throw yourself
In a veritable syndrome of court reverence
Ahaha! Greed, God, and bulletproof vests"
"Nevertheless, there ain't no money," said the kid

"Marks and pounds and pieces of flesh?" said the old man
"Nevertheless, there ain't no money," said the kid
"Hey, no protection is worth a damn," said the old man
"Nevertheless, there ain't no money," said the kid
"They're sending the waters off Heligoland," said the old man
"Nevertheless, there ain't no money," said the kid

"They're carving the marble, shaping the urn"
"Nevertheless, there ain't no money"
"A goateed image in Turkish stone?"
"Nevertheless, there ain't no money
Oh, my God," said the kid, "what am I going to do with my life now?"

"The woman settled for anomalous clothes
And socks some place in Vermont"
"Nevertheless, there ain't no money," said the old man
(The young man is evidently not worth suing)
"Nevertheless, there ain't no money"
"The State of Vermont is in America?" said the kid

"Nevertheless, there ain't no money," said the old man
"They're doing it again and again and again"
"Nevertheless, there's no money"

May I help you, sir?
Yes, I'd like to buy a map, please