America For Beginners

Steve Skaith / Mike Jones

Lyrics

What’s keeping the White House white
Is it chalk, Is it fog, Is it fear?
Are they staying up most of the night
And sending somebody out for a beer?
Is it bed-time for Bonzo?
Is it time for a change?
Is it flavour-free TV dinners?
It’s a hard thing to take, when they make a mistake
America for Beginners.

The sound of a bell with a crack
Even the swingers are swinging right
The vigilantes are on the way back
With prime-time ‘fight the good fight’.
What a start to a day
It starts three times with a “K”
There’s no sponsored hour for sinners
They’ll bring back the hot seat
And turn up the heat
America for Beginners

That’s America for Beginners.

You wear designer jeans after dark
And your shirts are sharp-cut in satin
But won’t you watch out for Central Park
And apartments in uptown Manhattan.
It’s a sign of the times
Better stay out in front
Because they’ve only got time for winners.
Just keep living for fun, you son of a gun
America for Beginners.

Everywhere there’s stripes and stars
Men in dark suits in unmarked cars
Sipping Jack Daniels in Third World bars
They’re close to the edge.
They’re as close as you can get.