GOLD
Adners Griffin Lyrics

When I got to the golden city
Once I arrived at the city of gold

Most of the gold was gone
The vast majority of the gold was already taken

By that time I had some questions
At that point, I had several inquiries

So I flagged down a race-car bum
I stopped a passerby in a race-car who appeared homeless

He said "Sonny I don't know where it's going,
He replied, "I don't know where it's headed,

But I can show you where it all comes from"
But I can guide you towards the origin"

And he mopped his red forehead and he pointed
He wiped his sweaty forehead and gestured

Straight into the setting sun
Toward the sun as it descended

And people let me tell you
And let me tell you

That what I then did saw
What I witnessed

It sent such a shock to my system
It was so startling that it affected me

That I almost fell down dead on the floor
I was so shocked that I almost fainted

'cause the sun had a big chunk missing
Because there was a large piece missing from the sun

About 24 carats wide
About the width of 24 carats

And I stared into that hole in the golden sun
And I peered into the void in the sun made of gold

And you want to know what I saw inside?
Would you like to know what was within?

I saw a giant toothpick factory
I saw an enormous factory for toothpicks

And it made my very soul feel sick
It made me feel extremely ill at ease

'cause when I say I saw a toothpick factory
Because when I mention seeing a toothpick factory

I mean I saw a factory made out of toothpicks
I mean I witnessed a factory constructed entirely of toothpicks

And that factory was a-hoppin' and a-jumpin'
The factory was active and animated

And a-roaring and letting off steam
And it was loud and releasing steam

And you know that that ain't all now
And that isn't the only thing either

Let me tell you what else I seen
Allow me to explain what else I observed

Behind the factory was a giant mutant monster
There was a colossal, mutated monster behind the factory

With sixty-seven separate tails
It had 67 distinct tails

And each one was a-wiggling and a-waving
And each one was wriggling and waving

And each one as long as twenty-three whales
Each of them was as long as 23 whales

And at the tip of each towering tendrils
On the peak of each towering tendril

Were a dozen tiny pencils of lead
There were 12 miniature lead pencils

And each word they wrote was in a different language
Each of the terms written was in a distinct language

And when you put them all together they said
But when you merged them, they proclaimed

"You who have arms to wrestle
"If you have the means to fight,

And you who have wars to fight
And if you are in conflict

And you who have chips on your shoulders
And if you are easily provoked

Must now line up and stand to my right
You should now assemble and stand to my right

But you who are meek and lawful
But if you are mild-mannered and compliant

And you who are soft and kind
Or if you are gentle and compassionate

If you don't want to see something awful
If you don't want to see something horrific

Run and get yourself a rock to hide behind
Flee and find a boulder to hide behind

'Cause these colours are just a signal
Because these colors are merely an indication

And these colours are just about to fade"
And these colors are about to vanish"

And when I read those words I shivered
Upon reading those terms, I quivered

And I saw exactl what the factory made
And then I observed precisely what the factory produced

Out of a little doorway
From a minuscule entryway

At the end of a conveyor belt
Located at the conveyor belt's end

In the centre of a ring of fire
In the midst of a circle of flames

Half the size of a postage stamp
Half the area of a postage stamp

Were a million household items
A million mundane household objects

Packed into a metal Dukes Of Hazzard lunchbox
Compressed inside a metal container from the TV show Dukes of Hazzard

And they were all shut and sealed and fastened
They were tightly closed, sealed, and secured

With a gold combination lock
With a lock featuring a golden mechanism

And just about every minute
Almost every minute

Another one came right out of the hole
Another one emerged promptly from the entryway

And crashed to the earth beneath it
And fell to the ground beneath it

And landed in a lump of coal
And fell amidst a pile of coal

And every poor coal miner
And every destitute coal miner

Who happened on a golden stone
Who chanced upon a nugget of gold

Was made both richer and wiser
Was made wealthier and more enlightened

And had to murder someone to get it home
But was compelled to kill someone to bring it back

And then I had to close my eyelids
I was compelled to close my eyes

And I had to turn my face away
And I turned away

The race-car man was crying
The driver of the race car was weeping

And I heard him angrily say
And I overheard him saying irritably

"I suppose you want a glass of water
"I assume you desire a drink of water

I suppose you want to eat something warm"
I presume you want something hot to eat"

I said, "Yes but not with you sir"
"Yes, but not with you, sir," I said

And I ran off to be alone
And I fled to be by myself

And I sat under a bridge and I wondered
And I sat beneath a bridge and contemplated

What exactly all of these things were
What all of these things truly were

And I found I could not yet remember
But I had difficulty recollecting

What I thought they were before
What I had initially thought they were

I just want something even
I only want something fair

Something that won't cause no fuss
Something that won't create any problems

The sun can go about its business
The sun can continue with its affairs

And leave the rest to us
And permit us to deal with everything else

And we'll call it even
And we'll consider it equitable

And we'll call it gold
And we'll refer to it as gold