YOU CAN GET USED
Fred Small, 1976

Found on Home-Style Stone Soup: The Streetwax Recording Collective

When I was a kid takin' biology,
I learned about man's adaptability,
So don't worry about reapin' the seed's we've sown.
When the goin' gets tough, the tough get goin'!
That's why we've got nothin' to fear.
That's why we'll live a zillion years,
'Cause we can get used to anything!

CHORUS: You can get used to anything--
A sunny day with no birds to sing!
Nitty-gritty in the city makes your eyes sting!
Ozone depletion and Burger King!
A little poison in the food on your plate,
A little cancer when you're fifty--
You can get used to anything!

The factory was billowin' smoke.
Every mornin' I'd wake up and start to choke.
My lawyer said, "Wow! This smacks of tort!
Leave it to me. We'll take the bastards to court!"
The judge said, "Look at the investment they've made!
They're not hurtin' you much compared to what they've paid,
And you can get used to anything!"

Way down South in New Orleans,
You know the drinking water ain't too clean.
The mayor, he says, "It's perfectly fine!
If it weren't, would I give it to children of mine?
Who cares what it does to a couple of rats?
We gotta wait till we all get the facts!
And we can get used to anything!

CHORUS: (...when you're forty-eight...)

In the year two-thousand and eighty-four
You get a square foot of land apiece and nothin' more.
Sometimes it seems a little tight,
But the TV'll tell you it's all right!
Clean concrete where dirty grass once grew!
No more trees to block your view!
And you can get used to anything!

CHORUS: (...when you're thirty-eight...)

I use to eat bacon but it went to my brain.
Used to take deep breaths, but now they cause me pain.
Used to buy what I needed, not what's advertised.
Used to cross the street and not be traumatized!
Used to buy fresh fruit at the corner store.
Used to go to bed without lockin' my door,
But you can get used to anything!

CHORUS: (...when you're twenty-eight...)

Fred Small, words and music copyright, 1976.

HTML line breaks added in place of double-spacing. --JoeClone, 7-Sep-02.