THE GRINCH REVISITED
(with thanks to Dr. Seuss)
©2002 Doug Goodkin
The Whos down in Whoville liked this country a lot,
But the Grinch in the White House most certainly did not.
He didn't arrive there by the will of the Whos,
But stole the election that he really did lose.
Vowed to "rule from the middle," then installed his regime.
(Did this really happen or is it just a bad dream?)
He didn't listen to voters, just his friends he was pleasin'
Now, please don't ask why, no one quite knows the reason.
It could be his heart wasn't working just right.
It could be, perhaps, that he wasn't too bright.
But I think that the most likely reason of all,
Is that both brain and heart were two sizes too small.
In times of great turmoil, this was bad news,
To have a government that ignores its Whos.
But the Whos shrugged their shoulders, went on with their work,
Their duties as citizens so casually did shirk.
They shopped at the mall and watched their T.V.
They drove their gas guzzling big S.U.V.
Oblivious to what was going on in D.C.
Ignoring the threats to democracy.
They read the same papers that ran the same leads,
Reporting what only served corporate needs.
(For the policies affecting the lives of all nations
Were made by the giant U.S. Corporations.)
Big business grew fatter, fed by its own greed,
And by people who shopped for the things they didn't need.
But amidst all the apathy came signs of unrest,
The Whos came to see we were fouling our nest.
And the people who cared for the ideals of this nation
Began to discuss and exchange information.
The things they couldn't read in the corporate-owned news
Of FTAA meetings and CIA coups.
Of drilling for oil and restricting rights.
They published some books, created Websites
Began to write letters and use their e-mail
(Though Homeland Security might send them to jail!)
What began as a whisper soon grew to a roar,
These things going on they could no longer ignore.
They started to rise up and fight City Hall
Let their voices be heard, they rose to the call,
To vote, to petition, to gather, dissent,
To question the policies of the "President."
As greed gained in power and power knew no shame
The Whos came together, sang "Not in our name!"
One by one from their sleep and their slumber they woke
The old and the young, all kinds of folk,
The black, brown and white, the gay, bi- and straight,
All united to sing, "Feed our hope, not our hate!
Stop stockpiling weapons and aiming for war!
Stop feeding the rich, start feeding the poor!
Stop storming the deserts to fuel SUV's!
Stop telling us lies on the mainstream T.V.'s!
Stop treating our children as a market to sack!
Stop feeding them Barney, Barbie and Big Mac!
Stop trying to addict them to lifelong consuming,
In a time when severe global warming is looming!
Stop sanctions that are killing the kids in Iraq!
Start dealing with ours that are strung out on crack!"
A mighty sound started to rise and to grow,
"The old way of thinking simply must go!
Enough of God versus Allah, Muslim vs. Jew
With what lies ahead, it simply won't do.
No American dream that cares only for wealth
Ignoring the need for community health.
The rivers and forests are demanding their pay,
If we're to survive, we must walk a new way.
No more excessive and mindless consumption
Let's sharpen our minds and garner our gumption.
For the ideas are simple, but the practice is hard,
And not to be won by a poem on a card.
It needs the ideas and the acts of each Who,
So let's get together and plan what to do!"
And so they all gathered from all 'round the Earth
And from it all came a miraculous birth.
The hearts and the minds of the Whos they did grow
Three sizes to fit what they felt and they know.
While the Grinches they shrank from their hate and their greed,
Bearing the weight of their every foul deed.
From that day onward the standard of wealth,
Was whatever fed the Whos' spiritual health.
They gathered together to revel and feast,
And thanked all who worked to conquer their beast.
For although our story pits Grinches 'gainst Whos,
The true battle lies in what we daily choose.
For inside each Grinch is a tiny small Who,
And inside each Who is a tiny Grinch too.
One thrives on love and one thrives on greed.
Who will win out? It depends who you feed!
Circulating - some with slightly different verses and titles, often listed as anonymous.
Mr. Cellophane from Chicago the musical
If someone stood up in a crowd
And raised his voice up way out loud
And waved his arm
And shook his leg
You'd notice him
If someone in a movie show
Yelled "fire in the second row,
This whole place is a powder keg!"
You'd notice him
And even without clucking like a hen
Everyone gets noticed, now and then,
Unless, of course, that personage should
be
Invisible, inconsequential me!
Cellophane
Mister cellophane
Should have been my name
Mister cellophane
'cause you can look right through me
Walk right by me
And never know I'm there!
I tell ya
Cellophane
Mister cellophane
Should have been my name
Mister cellophane
'cause you can look right through me
walk right by me
And never know I'm there. . .
Suppose you was a little cat
Residin' in a person's flat
Who fed you fish and scratched your
ears?
You'd notice him
Suppose you was a woman wed
And sleepin' in a double bed beside a man for seven years
You'd notice him
A human being's made of more of that an' air
With all that bulk , you're bound to see
him there
Unless that human bein' next to you
Is unimpressive, undistinguished
You know who. . .
Should have been my name
Mister cellophane
'cause you can look right through me
Walk right by me
And never know I'm there
I tell ya
Cellophane
Mister cellophane
Should have been my name
Mister cellophane
'cause you can look right through me
Walk right by me
And never know I'm there
Never even know I'm there
Betrayed - from the play The Producers
Just like Cain and Abel
You pulled a sneak attack
I thought that we were brothers
Then you stabbed me in the back
Betrayed!
Oh boy, I'm so betrayed!
Like Samson and Delilah
Your love began to fade
I'm crying in the hoosegow
You're in Rio getting laid!
Betrayed!
Let's face it, I'm betrayed!
Boy, have I been taken
Oy, I'm so forsaken
I should have seen what came to pass
I should have known to watch my ass!
I feel like Othello
Everything is lost
Leo is Iago
Max is double-crossed!
I'm so dismayed
Did I mention I'm betrayed?
I used to be the king
But now I am the fool
A captain with a ship
A rabbi without a shul!
Now I'm about to go to jail
There's no one who will pay my bail
I have no one who I can cry to
No one I can say goodbye to
...
My past's a dying ember
But wait...now I remember
How did it begin?
He walked into my office
With his cockamamie scheme
You can make more money
With a flop than with a hit
"We can do it, we can do it"
"I can't do it"
"We can do it!"
"I can't do it!" Goodbye Max!
Lord, I want that money!
I'm back, Max!
"Come on, Leo, we can do it!"
Step one, find the play!
Hello, Mister Liebkind
"Guten Tag, hop clop
"Guten Tag, hop clop"
Adolf Elizabeth Hitler? "Guten Tag, hop clop
"Guten Tag, hop clop!"
Step two, hire the director
"Keep it gay, keep it gay, keep it..."
Two-three, kick, turn, turn, turn, kick, turn
Ulla!
Oooh wah wah woo-woo- wah-wah
Step three, raise the money
"Along came Bialy!"
Intermission!
Step four, hire all the actors
"A wandering minstrel I,
A think of shreds and...
Next! The little wooden boy
Next! That's our Hitler!
"Opening night!"
Good luck, good luck, good luck
Break a leg! I broke my leg!
"Springtime for Hitler and Germany!"
A surprise smash!
"Springtime for Hitler and Germany!
It'll run for years!
"Where did we go right?
Where did we go right?"
Gimme those books
Fat, fat, fatty!
Gimme those books
Books, fat
Books, fat
Books, fat
Books, fat!
Lousy fruit
Kill the actors
You ever eatwith one?!
Then you ran to Rio
And you're safely out of reach
I'm behind these bars
You're banging Ulla on the beach!
Just like Julius Caesar
Was betrayed by Brutus
Who'd think an accountant
Would turn out to be my Judas!
I'm so dismayed
Is this how I'm repaid?
To be...
Betrayed!
Betrayed!!
Love Power - from the movie The Producers
Love power. I'm talking about love power.
The power of a sweet flower is gonna rule the earth.
And there'll be a great rebirth.
Love is a flower that is fine.
When I'm walkin' with my darlin' and we're holding hands,
and life is fine, 'cause she understands.
'A walking down the sunny street
givin' pretty flowers to the people that we meet.
And I give a flower to the big fat cop,
he takes his club and he beats me up.
I give a flower to the garbage man,
he stuffs my girl in the garbage can.
And I give it to the landlord, when the rent comes 'round.
He throws it in the toilet and he flush it down.
It goes into the sewer with the yuck running through her,
And it runs into the river that we drink.
Hey world, you stink!
Ah, man it's later than you think
Girl you got just one more chance.
Come on baby, while I dance.
Love, love power.
I'm talking 'bout love power
The power of a little flower.
You don't think 'bout no little flowers,
Oh no, all you think about is guns.
If everybody in the world today had a flower instead of a gun,
there would be no wars. There would be one big smell-in.
Just the flowers. Hey, man, a flower.
A flower. What you do to my flower, man?
You hurt it, like everything else.
Everything else. Flowers.
Max: That's our Hitler!!!!
Springtime for Hitler - original movie version
Germany was having trouble, what a sad, sad story
Needed a new leader to restore its former glory
Where, Oh where was he? Where could that man be?
We looked around and then we found
The man for you and me.
And now it's..
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Deutschland is happy and gay
We're marching to a faster pace
Look out, here comes the master race
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Winter for Poland and France
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Come on, Germans, go into your dance
I was born in Dusseldorf, and that is why they call me Rolf
Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Goosestep's the new step today
bombs falling from the skies again
Deutschland is on the rise again
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Uboats are sailing once more
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Means that soon we'll be going
We've got to be going
You know we'll be going to WAR!
