Wise

A story? Is that what your papers want, a story?
Listen, here's a story.
Not much fun, and not much glory,
Lowclass.....lowdown.....
The thing you never care to see,
Until there is a showdown.
Here it.....I'll make it snappy;
Are you ready?  Everybody happy?

Workpeople get gypped;
For no good reason, just gypped.
From the start until the finish comes...
They feed 'em out of garbage cans,
They breed 'em in the slums,
Workpeople will go,
And stand outside stores they know.
They'll look at the meat,
They'll look at the bread,
And too little to eat sort of goes to the head,
One big question inside me cries;
How many fakers, peace under-takers,
Paid strike-breakers,
How many toiling, ailing, dying, piled up bodies,
Brother, does it take to make you wise?


--"The Cradle Will Rock" by Narc Blitzstein, 1936