Me and T.S. Eliot forded the festering stream
that ran from the eternal trash heap
Some ugly cop tried to stop us but T.S. said “this ain’t your dream”
I heard the crashing as we clambered over the steep
bank and on the other side
I saw the diabolical dance of the spendthrifts and the cheap
miserly souls; they heave at great stones, some rode astride
they shoved and grunted and their backs did bend
They got momentum and when two stones would collide
They’d scream “why do you tax?” and “why do you spend?”
“why do you borrow? why do you save?”
“Why won’t you give me some give me some” and they’d start it all again
I said master that’s a mighty funny way to slave
Away eternity he said son that ain’t nothing
But I grant you money’s a damn silly way to pave
The path into this wracked and ruined thing
But pass it by on to deeper hells
These mad and anonymous accountants we must be passing
And we passed through into a mire that must be fed from tainted and abysmal wells
And straight into a frenzied and bloody melee
They were filthy and bloody and beat to shit and they only stopped fighting to die for brief spells
And my guide said mark them, wrath was their way
And so always must wrath come to
Always they’ll rage as they raged in my mortal day
But wrath son cannot carry one without some who
Grim and self-centered refuse to rise from their places
And raise a finger or even a voice at those who would take your very life from you
Look down into the murky places
of the swamp; see those bubbles boil
Look deeper, and see a sea of sullen faces
They would neither be carefree or toil
all their lives they kept their arms crossed
And sullenly watch those who sought light battle those who sought to spoil
And now most like what they were in life they are among the lost
They will not even move to raise their heads
Above the slime where they’ve been tossed
Sullenly they crouch in their murky beds
Only shift to croak their little tune
Singing “look down anyone who treads
across for we’ll not look at all for soon
You’ll walk along and be gone
We prefer the dark side of the moon
And only sing our sullen song
To tell you we still think you’re wrong.”
This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here
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