Banquet

Come to the dinner gong the table is laden high
Fat bellies and hungry little ones
Tuck your napkins in and take your share
Some get the gravy and some get the gristle
Some get the marrow bone and some get nothing
Though there's plenty to spare

I took my share down by the sea
Paper plates and Javex bottles on the tide
Seagulls come down and they squawk at me
Down where the water-skiers glide

Some turn to Jesus and some turn to heroin
Some turn to rambling round
Looking for a clean sky and a drinking stream
Some watch the paint peel off
Some watch their kids grow up
Some watch their stocks and bonds
Waiting for that big deal American dream

I took my dream down by the sea
Yankee yachts and lobster pots and sunshine
And logs and sails and shell oil pails
Dogs and tugs and summertime
Back in the banquet line
Angry young people crying

Who let the greedy in and who left the needy out?
Who made this salty soup tell him we're very hungry now
For a sweeter fare in the cookie I read
'Some get the gravy and some get the gristle
Some get the marrow bone and some get nothing
Though there's plenty to spare'