TEN MEN
As sung by David Mallett in this YouTube video from Maine Public Broadcasting Network.

Ten men in black hats got together one night.
Time to get the whole thing while the gettin's right.
Ten men in black hats in a shack on the edge of town.
You might think I'm crazy, but that's where the deal went down.

Ten men with big hands and eyes full o' blood.
They had to steal to make that deal in the drizzle and the mud.
The air smelled like kerosene; there was a shotgun standin' by.
The only light in the whole damn room was the gleam in the ten men's eyes.

Ten men in black hats on a cold, cold night.
Ten black cars a-idlin' in the glow of a red taillight.
Ten men with black hearts cuttin' up the spoils.
Wind howled in the tall tree; there was a pot begin to boil.

One man got the silver; one man got the gold.
One said: "I don't want nothin'; I just don't never want to grow old."
One said: "I get the water." He said: "I [or 'they'?] need it everywhere."
One said: "I get all the messages people send out through the air."

They divvied up the green grass; they divvied up the soil.
One man got all the iron ore and another man got all the oil.
One said: "I get the people; they all work for me."
Another, his a little brother, said: "I get all the fishes in the sea."

Ten men in black hats with faces cold and hard
Said: "This is good for everyone; somebody gotta take charge."
And then they all lit their stogies and they tipped back in their chairs.
Ten men in black hats; are you sure you wasn't there?

[This song also appears on David Mallet's album "Alright Now" (2009).]