Lyr Add: STAR 69 (Christine Lavin, 1995)

Subject: Lyr Add: STAR 69 (Christine Lavin, 1995)
From: WindhoverWeaver
Date: 02 Jan 12 - 12:09 PM

It used to be so easy to use the telephone,
You'd pick it up and dial and they would answer if they were home,
But then the answering machine helped us cut the cord,
Now callers could be screened--or better yet, ignored.

Then came call waiting, ah, we don't let that upset us,
Though I have come to call call waiting "chattus interuptus".
But theres a brand new service, it's called "star 69",
It redials the last person who called you and puts them back on the line.
There's call forwarding, there's beepers, there's call conferencing and such,
A panoply of choices, sometimes it's all too much. You see

There was a sweet young girl, so trusting, so naive,
You could tell her anything and she would believe,
She met a computer repair man, his name was Jim,
And it was just a matter of time until she truly cared for him.

Though he criss-crossed the country, he'd see her whene'er he could,
She grew to love him dearly, though him kind and thought him good,
But there was one thing about him she considered a minor quirk,
He said he had no home phone, she must contact him at work.

It was his beeper number he instructed her to dial,
He'd always call her back so fast his haste would make her smile,
They carried on for months like this, until one rainy day,
She called him on the beeper, he did not call back right away.

But when he did, she heard background noises that made her suspicious,
Was that babies crying, was that someone doing dishes?
When they hung up she sat and pondered for quite some time,
Then with shaky hand she dialed star 69.

A woman answered the telephone, the young girl asked for Jim,
Then quickly added "who is this?" The woman said "I'm married to him",
The conversation that followed was the kind that men most dread,
The young girl told the wife everything her husband ever said,
Or did, or promised her, then the wife had her say too,
About the three young children and how her income pulled them through,
They talked, they cried, they talked, they laughed,
Now you could say he's in a bind,
All because the phone company has given us "Star 69".

Modern conveniencies can help you, but they can backfire,
If you are the kind of person who is a liar.
In this global village it is best to tell the truth,
And beware if someone's courting you from a telephone booth.
Yes, in this global village, take this as a sign,
Remember that repair man and star 69.

Notes:
The first 10 lines are sort of half spoken, half sung, then the rest is sung.
On her 1995 album "Please Don't Make Me Too Happy"

WW