A sha-la-la song with a conscience. The Mike Harris czarship in Ontario has had two positive effects on my life: It helped shape the theme of this song and it prompted me to get my Canadian citizenship. Unfortunately, now that I have it (my citizenship), I have been deprived of the chance to help oust Harris.
You know, probability has played a big part in my life. I've always been fascinated by probabilities and statistics, and as a kid I used to lock myself in my room and invent all sorts of games based on probabilities with dice. It's true. It became a bit of a compulsion, and when I went to the University of Waterloo, I made the momentous decision to study (gasp) Statistics. I'm a bit of an anti-gambling fanatic as well. Because I am so well versed in the mechanics of chance, and because I've known what it is like to waste an awful lot of time playing stupid games, I really feel for people who honestly believe that there is something noble and potentially life-enhancing about gambling. Ironically, everyone in my immediate family loves gambling except me. I am not the most popular member of my immediate family during discussions about casinos.
I had an awful lot of fun recording the lead vocals for this song, and I owe it all to Diana's restaurant in downtown Guelph. I had an excellent curry for dinner which gave me the spark to really lean into the vocals for this when we returned to Ken's studio.
| Jack Cooper | Vocals, Taylor 510 Acoustic Guitar |
| Ken Brown | Stand Up Bass, Hand Claps, Vocals |
| Matthew Shawn Fleming | Percussion |
| Karl Rainer | Violins |
The party is over
for now
Everyone's gone to bed
All my friends have gone a little crazy
Me, I went out of my head
Now the cold, harsh morning light heralds
Another pointless week in store
We work our jobs, come home, and get wasted
When Friday rolls around, we'll do it all some more
Chorus:
The game's about to start
Even though it's fixed
You know the call of the dollar's mighty hard to resist
There's money to be made hand over fist
If you've never blown a fortune
Then you don't know what you've missed
If you're feeling lucky, then five will get you twenty
In this land of plenty
Johnny does what
he can
To make a living each day
He gets paid to drive a grocery truck
Too little sleep, too many highways, too little pay
He plays the slots when he's out on the road
Where there's nothing else to do but kill time
One day he swears he'll finally strike it rich
Then he can finally tell his boss
To kiss his ass goodbye
Chorus
Everyone wants
a part of the action
The fame, the glamour, the attraction
It's a land of
dreams
A land of milk and honey
It's a land where all the streets are paved
With shining silk and money
Don't be a sucker, grab the bull by the horns
Don't let this golden deal pass you by
No one's gonna draw you a freakin' map
Or teach you how to survive
Take an eye for an eye
Final Chorus:
The game's about to start
Even though it's fixed
You know the almighty dollar's mighty hard to resist
There's money to be made hand over fist
If you've never blown a fortune
Then you don't know what you've missed
If you're feeling lucky, then five will get you twenty
If you're feeling lucky, start laying down your money
If you're feeling lucky, then five will get you twenty
In this land of plenty