Monkey On A Chain

(album: No One's Slate Is Clean - 2010)

Motorbike on the island
Steering like an angry hornet
I don't belong in this ritzy palace
Show me your shanty
Show me your corrupted churches

There's a pearl in the mud
There's a penniless child next to a mansion in the sun
There's a monkey on a chain
While his puppeteer pulls his strings for change

I'm a honey-haired lonely traveler
You're a rice-picking lonely sailor
And despite the language barrier
I appreciate the gesture

The museum is filling up with flies
A rosary from the man with ebony eyes
The barefoot children stick out their hands for coins
The barefoot street men advertise their tricks and their noise

There's a pearl in the mud
There's a penniless child next to a mansion in the sun
There's a monkey on a chain
While his puppeteer pulls his strings for change

I'm an empty bar storyteller
You've just made enough for dinner
And despite the language barrier
I appreciate the gesture