No Help

I spent the last third of the twentieth century developing enterprise-wide information systems. I got pretty good at it, but when it was time to move on, I knew it. Burn-out does happen. One sure sign I was done was this song.

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Lyrics

Well I woke up this morning, turned on the TV,

And the man on the screen had a message for me.

He said, “The world needs your help, it’s in a terrible state.

“You’d better get out and fix it before it’s too late.”

“What you gonna do about it?” he asked me.

“Nothin’.” I said, and turned off the TV.

I picked up the paper to check out the news

But I couldn’t decide which disaster to choose.

The front page was littered with mayhem and greed

And I thought to myself, “This is not what I need!”

What you gonna do about all these problems, son?

Nothin’, I think that I better run.

I’ll get back on the road, get back on a train,

Get back on a boat, or get back on a plane.

‘Cause there are places to go, there are places to see,

And the world gets along fine with no help from me.

I went for a walk, it was a beautiful day

And a man on a soapbox was havin’ his say.

He said, “The sinners are sinnin’, it’s a terrible fate.

“You’d better go preach the gospel and set ‘em all straight.”

“What you gonna do about it?” I heard him say.

“Nothin’.” I said, as I walked away.

I went to the park and sat down in the sun.

I started to think but had only begun

When a fellow came up and he wanted to chat

About conspiracy theories he kept under his hat.

He said “surely there must be something you want to know.”

“Nothin’.” I said, “and thanks, but I gotta go.”

Get me back on the road, get me back on a train,

Get me back on a boat, or get me back on a plane.

‘Cause there are places to go, there are places to see,

And the world gets along fine with no help from me.

When I go to the corner to catch the bus home

The drunks and the beggers won’t leave me alone.

It’s the same true professionals year after year

Always trying to trade on your guilt and your fear.

What we gonna do about it I ask you.

Nothin’, it seems, ‘cause we haven’t a clue.

The city is nice, lots to do and to see,

But sooner or later it gets to me.

All the chaos and noise tends to drag on my soul,

Tends to make me feel angry, and make me feel old.

But there is something I can do to get my mind clear.

I can just turn my back and make it all disappear.

I get back on the road, get back on a train,

Get back on a boat, or get back on a plane.

'Cause there are places to go, there are places to see,

And the world gets along fine with no help from me.

Copyright (c) T. Bruce, 1999-2011. All rights reserved.