It's What I Want Even More

How did you know that I needed that?
That there beau chapeau, that most handsome hat?
You give premo gifts, you know you do, you two
Now what do you suppose it is I can do for you?

It will take me a short while to learn how to savor
Those little scenes where they come currying favor
Being up from the bottom in the manner that I am
There was once a time I could not even get spam

That sharp-dressed couple requests from me action
To help get them off for their little tiny infraction
Slowly but surely I’m developing this grand theory
Although it’s a bit bleak and just a tad dreary

Somebody has a camera and they’re watching me flaunt
Figuring out with great care all the things I might want
Like a jewel-encrusted mother-of-pearl bone-handled knife
The sort of thing they give in exchange for no strife

You turn your head to our spurious and nefarious deeds
And we’ll apply a tourniquet when your artery bleeds
Quick now, my brightest of friends you must get with the program
Don’t listen to those naysayers who call our plan a pogrom

See my son I hear you’ve been down on your luck of late
In sack cloth and ashes, thrashing outside the gate
Well your worrying days have ended they’re now all but over
We won’t stop working for you ‘til you’re pushing up clover

You say you have need of our help- we’re there in a flash
We’ll stand watch for you, even help guard your stash
And in return we only ask you to run us this number
After that we swear your time we will not encumber

How do you say politique, how do you say pouvoir?
With a hand over your eyes open your mouth and say ah
I’m going down to the street festival with my favorite clown
And when we get back I hope you’re done with that frown

It’s called the big swap or sometimes the great compromise
We launder your money and supply you with lies
Then when the time comes for our day in the court
We feel certain you will have nothing but good news to report

Three card monte, five card stud and Russian roulette
Ante up for us now and in the future you’re set
This is not a racchetta, why it’s nothing but a parlor game
When everything is over you will be glorious with fame

We know you have read the Prince by Machiavelli
And spent a few nights checking CSI on the teli
So for you the thing we’re asking should be nothing new
No great surprise, real shock or something out of the blue

Keep a straight poker face and don’t let them see you sweat
And for sure don’t parade around if your pants you should wet
When you recall it’s your future on this that is riding
We’re sure you will be successful at this little bit of hiding

There’s an old expression the folks used back home
No matter where you wander or where you should roam
Good things always come to those who can wait
So bother not for your fortune or worry for your fate

Figure out as a young person the fine art of the deal
When you must lay and when you probably should peel
The world is full of card sharks, all these unseemly folk
Trust me when I say to you, their games are no joke

The order of life is politics, the essence of living is power
Cooperate with the main man or woman of the hour
To enter this club where serious business is fun
You must have an ID that says you’re over twenty-one

Go down Moses, As I Lay Dying, my son Absalom
There’s heat in the Delta it’s downright hot where I’m from
The comforts of home, judgment day and the enduring chill
Steel your magnolias, zip up your fly and for sure take that pill

It started in Sicily, spread to Athens and then Rome
Pouring out of the river bottoms and onto the loam
Like lava from a volcano it poured down the valley
All through the street and especially into the alley

If they vote you to congress or in the White House you wind up
You can bet your sweet bippy with motley folk you will sup
I’m not saying they are mean or that they aren’t a saint
And as smart as you are, I know you’re not saying I ain’t

There’s a fine line between fair dealing and what they call graft
One blows your face and the other well, it blows your aft
So keep your eyes on the starboard and a mirror on the port
Or the messes you get in may just be too much to sort

You ask a lot of life; holidays, vacations, family resorts
Las Vegas casinos, late-night dancing and extreme sports
For these you will pay dearly, for these you will cough up
Especially if it’s with high rollers that you share a cup

Now where is that couple with the nice hat to give?
Are they somewhere nearby or slipped down through the sieve?
I had a few things to ask them before I took their bribe
Such as could they talk turkey or with me could they jibe

So I’m better off not asking, better off not having learned?
Their offer is withdrawn and my deal they have spurned?
Well what do you know and what do you say?
I could have sworn that slick dyad was here for more than a day.

Oh, I see, they’ve gone to the inside, the jailhouse, the slammer
And it’s now me the authorities are just itching to hammer?
Hand me down my walking cane and everybody out of my way
One more cup of coffee to go, for round here I can’t stay

They say the keeper Saint Peter is a kindly old gent
Since his get up and go, done got up and went
I have a story that’s straight and a pretty good line
So I’m betting the house I’ll drink that heavenly wine.

If you like yard sales and swap meets this is where it’s at?
Eating cake with the devil until you are soooo phat
Can you say what you want from this golden shore?
Well, if that’s what you want, it’s what I want even more