Song Description

A folk music protest song of the old school.

Lyrics

WE?VE COME TO PRIVATIZE

We?ve come to privatize your Florida state parks!
Though we?re supposed to represent you, we know you?re our easy marks.
And there?s entirely too much dirt around here;
Crocodiles and snakes abound here;
Far too much of nature?s sound here;
Let?s generate some rental income from these nesting meadowlarks.

We need to pamper our fat-cat concessionaires;
Don?t think that campaign contributions come from bears.
We?ve never met the silly porcupine
Who?d cough us up a single dime,
The parks will feature Calvin Klein,
And we?ll get a high percentage kickbacks on that souvenir sportswear.

From the old Ochlockonee River to the tip of Topsail Hill,
Your Florida state parks are ripe for takin?;
We?re building condos, selling timeshares?got deep pockets, now, to fill.
We?ll sell your heritage, your beaches, your clean water, and clean air.
And thanks to lobbyists who represent the smiling millionaires,
You know we?re bringin? home the legislative bacon.

We?ll call the privatizing process by a name
That makes it sound like something sweet as sugar cane.
Sugar! There?s a subject that could make a man digress;
We?ll squeeze the Everglades to death--a giant dollar press;
And then we?ll streamline the state parks; ?streamline?--there?s the term, oh yes;
We?ll get those parks trimmed down to size and then we?ll auction off the rest.

From Gasparilla Island to Homosassa Springs,
The state?s a big cash register that we know how to ring.
Oh, we?ll preach about the wildlife that we?d so love to preserve,
We?ll rave about the rivers, every bank and every curve,
We?ll praise the common good; it?s what the people so deserve.
And then we?ll pull off our sheep?s clothing and do our howling thing.

We?ve come to privatize your Florida state parks!
We?ll make it sound like something wonderful and keep you in the dark.
We may not post a big FOR SALE sign;
But it?s OPEN HOUSE among the pines;
There?s money to be made, don?t whine:
Jump in and do your swimming with the sharks.


© 2003, 2005 Daniel V. Gribbin
Dan Gribbin/#E1605-2473/3867608226