Don’t You Feel All Right, (a Public Employee’s Lament)

(a country tune, moderato in G-C-A-D) 

I was thumbin’ through a newspaper; thinkin’ about this mess

When I came across a headline about the T R S

There's unfunded ratios and worst-case scenarios

There’s Ingram 'n' Madigan, who are friends with CEOs

This is the daily news; don’t you feel all right
This is our Statehouse blues; don’t you feel uptight

Our State defaulted on payments, and throughout the years

It asks us to compensate, or else we’ll shed more tears

We’ll lose our hope and security, and our dignity

Just like in Wisconsin and in Christie’s New Jersey

This is the U.S. news; don’t you feel all right
This is our nation’s blues; don’t you feel some spite

We paid for our pensions, and quite faithfully

We paid for our insurances, and our abilities

We spoke to our lawmakers to make it fair for all

We fought for our benefits; we’re about to lose them all

This is our nation’s blues; don’t you feel all right

This is the Statehouse news; don’t you want to strike

So I had my fill and I skipped a page, and this is what I found

The Civic Committee was predictin’ ‘bout bad things to come

They said our State was broken and to beat upon their drums

That pensions were causes for things lookin’ glum

These are the Tribune’s lies, from morning to the night
This is what they skew; don’t you want to write
About welchin’ on promises: benefits and our rights
About outsized pension debts that should be amortized
About shiftin’ the payments, that our government owes
About tax breaks and loop-holes, for the CEOs

This is the daily news; don’t you feel all right
This is the Statehouse blues; don’t you want to strike

This is our nation’s blues; don’t you want to fight

This is the daily news; don’t you feel all right…