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Talking Atom (Old Man Atom)
Pete Seeger
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I'm gonna preach you a sermon 'bout Old Man Atom
Now I don't mean the Adam in the Bible datum
No, I don't mean the Adam of the Eve mated
I mean that thing that science liberated
Y'know, Einstein said he was scared
If he's scared boy, I'm scared
You know life used to be such a simple joy
The cyclotron was a super toy
Folks got born, they'd work and marry
And atom was a word in the dictionary
Then it happened
These science guys from every clime
They all pitched in with overtime
Before you knew it, the job was done
They'd hitched up the power of the doggone sun
Put a harness on old Sol
Splitting atoms right and left
While the diplomats were splitting hairs
Course the cartel crowd put on a show
They're gonna turn back the clock on the UNO
Grab a corner on atoms and maybe extinguish
Every damn atom that can't speak English!
Down with foreign-born atoms!
America for American atoms
Step right up folks, let's atomize world peace
But the atom's international in spite of hysteria
Flourishes in Utah, also Siberia
The atom don't care about politics
Or who got what into whichever fix
All he wants to do is sit around
And have his nucleus bombarded by neutrons
Yes, it's up to the people 'cause the atom don't care
You can't fence him in, he's just like air
And whether you're white, black, red, or brown
The question is this when you boil it down
To be or not to be
That is the question
Yes, and the answer to it all ain't military datum
Like who gets their fustest with the mostest atoms
But the people of the world must decide their fate
We gotta stick together or disintegrate
We hold these truths to be self-evident
All men could be cremated equal
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