A song about the life cycle of dictators
Triumphantly you mount your steed
And parade the boulevard
The trumpets sound and flowers fly
It's the changing of the guard
Men strew your path with gifts of gold
As they pledge their loyalty
The table's set and the feast begins
To celebrate your destiny
You're the chief now and your enemy died hard
The judge wipes a dagger on his cloak
Your hands are clean but smoke still lingers in the air
And liars laugh before you tell your joke
You wave your fist and pledge reform
But you give stale bread to eat
While your mistress soaks in a golden bath
Men and dogs patrol the street
Your mustache and your happy grin
Adorn ev'ry school and bar
But you spend each night in a diff'rent house
And need a fleet of decoy cars
You wear medals just like you Dad before
He killed a million people in his time
Graves in the highlands and corpses in the sea
He never paid a minute for his crime
The wind whispers of a coup d'etat
And you feel a sudden chill
The stolen ballots have now been found
There's guerillas in the hills
The time has come to wave the flag
And send the troops off to war
But the walls close in and you can't trust
Your own brother any more
The hour is near when the piper must be pad
The sky is gray and it looks like rain
The lights are out and your bags are packed
The plane awaits but will you make the plane?
-- Joshua Wachtel and Alexei Panshin
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