Talking Columbia

Well, down along the river just a-sitting on a rock
I'm a-looking at the boats in the Bonneville lock
Gate swings open, the boat sails in
Toot that whistle, she's gone again
Gasoline going up. Wheat coming down

Well, I filled up my hat brim, drunk a little taste
Thought about a river just a-going to waste
Thought about the dust, an' thought about the sand
Thought about the people, an' thought about the land
Folks running round all over creation
Looking for some kind of little place

Well, I pulled out my pencil, scribbled this song
Figured all them salmon just couldn't be wrong
Them salmon fish is mighty shrewd
They got senators and politicians, too
Just about like the president. They run every four years

You just watch this river, though, pretty soon
Everybody's gonna be changing their tune
The big Grand Coulee and the Bonneville dams
Run a thousand factories for Uncle Sam
And everybody else in the world. Turning out
Everything from fertilizers to sewing machines
And atomic bedrooms and plastic
Everything's gonna be plastic

Uncle Sam need houses and stuff to eat
Uncle Sam needs wool, and Uncle Sam needs wheat
Uncle Sam needs water and power dams
Uncle Sam needs people, and the people need land
'Course I don't like dictators none myself
But then I think the whole country had ought to be run by e-lec-trici-ty