IT'S MONEY THAT MATTERS
As recorded by Randy Newman on "Land of Dreams" (1988)

Of all of the people
That I used to know,
Most never adjusted
To the great big world.

I see them lurking in book stores,
Working for the public radio,
Carrying their babies around in a sack on their back
Moving careful and slow.

It's money that matters.
Hear what I say:
It's money that matters
In the USA.

All of these people are much brighter than I.
In any fair system they would flourish and thrive,
But they barely survive.
They eke out a living.
They barely survive.

When I was a young boy,
Maybe thirteen,
I took a hard look around me,
Asked: "What does it mean?"

So I talked to my father; he didn't know.
And I talked to my friend; he didn't know.
And I talked to my brother; he didn't know.
And I talked to everybody that I knew.

It's money that matters.
Now you know that it's true.
It's money that matters,
Whatever you do.

I talked to a man
Lived up on the county line.
I was washing his car
With a friend of mine.

He was a little fat guy
In a red jumpsuit.
I said: "That looks kind of funny."
He said: "I know it does too."

"I got a great big house on the hill here,
Great big blonde wife inside it,
And a great big pool in my backyard,
Another great big pool beside it.

"Sonny, it's money that matters.
Hear what I say:
It's money that matters.
In the USA.

"It's money that matters.
Now you know that it's true.
It's money that matters,
Whatever you do."