Union Songs
Homeless Tonight
A song by Mimi Yahn©Mimi Yahn 2008
- [play]
They say it's the forces of the market at work
When folks like us lose our jobs and our homes
But when it's the fat cats who lose all their profits
Well, that, they tell us, is a global depression.
And I know
It's just the system
Just the market
Just the powerful few
Who create these hard times
That I may not get through.
Chorus:
So tell me, you bankers, you captains of industry
How do you sleep in your mansions tonight?
Surrounded by priv'lege and the comforts of wealth
Are you proud of your greed and your corporate practices?
Do you know, do you care, that your actions today
Have made another family homeless tonight.
Well, our politicians throw us a few crumbs
Health care for children while their parents drop dead
New stadiums and condos replace schools and housing
But that, they tell us, is urban redevelopment.
And I know
That the highways
The casinos
And the corporate malls
Are backed by developers who bankroll elections.
Chorus:
So tell me, you senators, you presidents, you mayors
How do you sleep in your mansions tonight?
Surrounded by lobbyists and the comforts of power
Are you proud that you serve your corp'rate masters so well?
Do you know, do you care, that the laws that you've passed
Have made so many families homeless tonight.
Executives profit from each cancer death
Lay off a thousand so your stock will go up
Privatize basics, reduce life to numbers
And no one gets rich by a world without war.
And I know
I'm just a paycheck
Just a sickness
Just a bad loan away
From being just another
Homeless body on the street.
Chorus:
So tell me, you leaders, you policy-makers
How do you sleep in your mansions tonight?
Surrounded by numbers and the comforts of arrogance
Are you proud of your absence of human compassion?
Do you know, do you care, that the costs you don't count
Are lives your insanity made homeless tonight.
Our nation once served as safe harbor for all
Send us your tired, your poor and oppressed
But now there's no shelter from the storms we must weather
There's only tax shelters and bailouts for the rich.
And I know
There's no justice
No liberty
No democracy for all
There's only a kleptocracy
For the wealthy elite.
Chorus:
So tell me, you citizens, you good people all
How can we sleep in our soft beds tonight?
Our nation's been hijacked, our principles destroyed
Are we proud of the carnage carried out in our name?
Do we know, do we care, that our failure to act
Will leave our nation's future hopeless tonight.
Do we know, do we care, that the power we hold
Can change the course of nations and families tonight.
Notes
Many thanks to Mimi Yahn for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection
Find more of Mimi's work in this collection
union songs..........a selection by mark gregory