Tiger by the Tail

Tiger by the Tail

Welcome to the land of Saints and Scholars,
loose your belt, turn ‘round your collar
and worship the Almighty Dollar
– the One Thing that can’t fail!
Forget the fact that our Culture’s sold,
Shut up! Don’t think! Do as your told!
But it doesn’t seem too wise to hold
a Celtic Tiger by the tail!

Out T.D.s say we’ve never had it so good,
that’s it due to them is understood
and if we want it to continue then we should
vote them at the next ballot.
They spin it up ‘til we’re all hysterical
about our so-called “economic miracle”
but when politicians start waxing lyrical
I want to check my wallet!

chorus:
But in our headlong flight from Poverty
The Market has become our Holy Grail.
It’s time to wake up to the gravity of our situation:
We’ve got a Tiger by the Tail!

Our new God is the mighty Car:
it gives us status, sex and power
and murders hundreds every year
– but Progress can’t be stopped.
We’ll need, of course, more motorways,
miles and miles of deadly grey,
too bad that oakwood’s in the way
– another treasure chopped.

There’s a 40% illiteracy and a six-month wait for surgery
– it’s just as well our GNP is going through the roof!
Speaking of which, a house deposit now costs more
than the National Debt of Parador
and with every day it grows more dire
for those outside the loop.

But the Economy is not our only “growth”
– so are the figures for drug abuse
and the disturbing numbers of our youth
committing suicide.
And in the scramble to get more,
the weaker sections are ignored
and the gap between rich and poor
is growing ever-wider.