1979

by Doug Midgley

 

Everybody's talkin' 'bout

The things that they had

Just ain't the same

Since the money went bad

I've got a $20 bill

That ain't worth a dime

I'd bend down to pick that dollar up

But it ain't worth my time

​

Some people always say

We're still the greatest power in the world

But what are those people gonna say

When our oil's been burned

I've got a '57 Chevy

Was fuel injected

Now it's blown

Spent a lot of cash and six long years

I wish I could have known

That a buck ain't worth a gallon

And there are few things that are worse

My Chevy runs on premium

And there ain't no high test left on Earth

​

When I was a child

I would sit and wonder where

The gas would go when Dad filled up

I didn't know it turned to air

Burnin' fuel's like feeding birds

It turns to waste then goes somewhere

Shit hits the ground to decompose

Exhaust lingers in our air

And we breath it deep in our lungs

And laugh like it's not there

Trading our lives for mobility

When we can't afford the fare

​

The cancer rate has jumped so high

And we blame it on the cans

That robbed us of our ozone

It's no longer in our hands

If the food we eat ain't processed

It's been injected or it's canned

But I still think Hostess makes that best fruit pies

This side of McDonald's Land