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Not written specifically for the revue, but from the same era, and definitely fits the theme.

lyrics

I woke up with my mind’s eye
facing your direction:
I looked hard
And I saw you needed help.
You’re choking on paper
and tape and legislation,
But you can’t produce
one thing to help yourself.

Paper city at the heart
of a paper empire:
You’ve got strings to pull,
you’ve got wires all over the earth.
Sky-climbing parasite,
concrete and paper jungle,
You’ve got money to burn,
but I know you’d rather freeze to death.

You’ve got stacks of stocks
and shares and bonds:
You’ve got telephone and telex,
databank and dateline too.
But you can’t produce
as much as one lead pencil,
Or a bar of soap,
or a rubber band to pull you through.

The media twitch at the flash
of a freemason’s handshake:
Speeches are made
and the punters gather round;
Paper politicians
and faceless company men,
Taking the pulse
of an ailing paper pound.

I bet you know
just what you’re worth on paper:
When the market crumbles,
what will that do to you?
A lot of cold people
don’t own the earth they lie in:
Will you be all right
in your green-lined paper tomb?

Paper city at the heart
of a bankrupt empire:
Your towers get higher
as your assets hit new lows.
Nose-diving parasite,
I wouldn’t mind you dying,
But you’ll take so many with you
when you go.

credits

from Hands of the Craftsman (expanded edition), released March 25, 2021
Words, music, guitars and vocals by David A. Harley.

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all rights reserved

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David A. Harley England, UK

David Harley is a former professional musician, administrator, IT security editor, author and researcher, and former much else that is even less impressive. He now lives in Cornwall. More info at whealalice.com

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