// Toto Dies, by Nellie McKay: Lyrics
[piano introduction]
and when the dawn breaks through the drums start
beating the morning to the farm
your grimace widens and your lips part
sounding the silent alarm
and when the bells explode they scatter
hitching a hand onto the breeze
the grand bureaucracy grows fatter
whistling the old melodies
oh we oh
goes the buckingham jewel guard
oh we oh
goes the cop on the beat
oh we oh
goes the kid in the schoolyard
oh we oh
goes the kid on the street
hey man what's happ'ning with you
i watched that episode too
maybe i'll get some chinese
i'll have the dumplings no msg please
and when the night breaks through they wonder
if all they lost was self respect
they pass the homes of greed and plunder
still ling'ring on, the disconnect
oh we oh
sittin' down for the evenin'
oh we oh
through the civil earthquake
oh we oh
safe in bed and they're dreaming
heaven knows if they'll ever awake
[interlude]
yeah i'll have my coffee black
hey look we're bombing iraq
i guess that's the only way
oh did i tell you we got fifi spayed
and when they get to work they hear drums
the boom fills all the empty space
they file papers la da di dum
trimming their shoebox with lace
oh we oh
but there's somethin' a growin'
oh we oh
through the bustle and hiss
oh we oh
fuck the lawns that need mowin'
oh we oh
there is somethin' amiss
oh we oh
oh we oh
oh we oh
oh we oh we oh
* * *