The World
Loudon Wainwright III Lyrics

Oh the world is a terrible place
The singer considers the world to be a terrible place.

Look at the look on your face
The expression on the listener's face confirms that they agree with the singer's view.

It says it all
The listener's expression conveys a lot of meaning to the singer without any words being spoken.

This world's appalling
The world is awful in the artist's eyes.

And we ache for outer space
The artist wishes to leave the Earth for better surroundings.

'Cause the world is a terrible place
The world is a bad place and that is why the singer wants to leave it.

And the world is a crappy old hole
The singer has no faith in the world and considers it to be unpleasant.

From bottom to top and pole to pole
The artist believes the world is rotten through and through, without exception.

No there's no good news
The artist believes there is no positive aspect to the world.

This world's useless
The world is useless and serves no purpose according to the artist.

I'm out of here it's my goal
The singer wants to leave the world behind and seeks to achieve that goal.

Cause the world is a crappy old hole
The artist reinforces their view of the world being a bad place by repeating the same phrase.

And the world is a sandwich of shite
The singer considers the world to be an unpleasant, undesirable object that can only be described as being full of filth.

Every day you take another bite
Despite the badness of the world, people continue to exist within it and have to deal with it regularly.

You think you're Superman
People may have the impression they are capable of handling the world's troubles and overcoming them.

Sure you can handle it
People may believe they are capable of coping with the world's troubles.

'Til you come across kryptonite
The artist likens the world's troubles to kryptonite that renders Superman powerless. There are some things that people cannot handle.

Chunky style
An interjection that separates the second chorus from the first verse.

The world is a sandwich of shite alright
The singer reinforces their view of the world as a bad place by restating the same refrain twice.

What a wonderful world it would be
The artist wonders what the world would be like if it were void of all its negativity and problems.

If wishes were horses maybe
Making a wish alone cannot make it come true.

It's just a song Louis' coming on strong again
The words are just a song and the artist acknowledges the need for happy thoughts in the world.

We ache for fantasy
The singer desires a world that has no problems - this world does not exist except in imagination.

Cause the world is a dirty old joke
The world is barren, dire, and miserable - there is no light at the end of the tunnel according to the artist.

And there's no way to fix it, it's broke
The singer believes the world cannot be fixed and is beyond repair.

It's beyond repair and I couldn't care less
The singer has given up on the world and is indifferent to the world's fate.

If and when it goes up in smoke
If the world ends, the singer would not be sorry.

And it will
The artist believes the world will come to an end one day.

Cause the world is a dirty old crappy old shitty old terrible joke
The artist reinforces their view of the world as a terrible place by saying it in a funny way that also emphasizes the world's pitiful state.

Ooooh
An interjection that follows the final line and emphasizes the singer's resignation with the world's situation.