Bullfrog

<br>I was sittin` by the bank on a hollow stump <br> When I thought I heard me a bullfrog jump <br> Turned around and sure enough there <br> he sat <br> He said excuse me, buddy, but I`ve been <br> readin` your news <br> And I`m sorry to say that I`m a <br> little confused <br> You bein` human, well you`d know where <br> it`s at. <br><br> He said I read where this old world`s <br> gonna fold <br> And all on account of a think called gold <br> And that`s somethin` hard for us frogs <br> to understand <br> Now you`re lookin` at me like I`m <br> kinda funny <br> But where I live we don`t have no money <br> So we want to be hip to the happ`nin`s <br> here on land. <br><br> Now I thought I was stoned so I <br> started walkin` <br> I mean whoever heard of a bullfrog talkin` <br> But then I realized I hadn`t been grazin` <br> in no grain <br> So I figured I`d tell him just what I thought <br> `bout how gold was sold and how gold <br> was bought <br> And he`d understand our world when <br> I explained. <br><br> I said it all started a long time ago <br> When the people first learned to reap <br> and sow <br> They got all the things they needed right <br> out of the earth <br> Like how many leaves and how many trees <br> Would it take to cover up the anatomies <br> And that`s how you figured how much a suit <br> of clothes was worth. <br><br> Well then man he learned how to milk a cow <br> And how to till the soil with a stone <br> blade plow <br> And he kept so busy he never had time to <br> do you harm <br> Then he`d take his produce and all that milk <br> And go into town and trade them for silk <br> So his woman she`d look sharp down at <br> the farm. <br><br> Well the bullfrog let out a belly croak <br> Like I`d told him some kind of a joke <br> And he said I think you`re jivin` me my man <br> (what me?) <br> I said I know it sounds kinda mystifyin` <br> But the truth of the matter is I ain`t lyin` <br> I mean I ain`t talkin` no bullfrog, <br> you understand? <br><br> He said now don`t get upset I`m not <br> agin` you <br> You just go ahead, go ahead and continue <br> And I`ll be quiet and try to understand <br> He said I know about trees and leaves <br> and plants <br> And milk and silk and the farmer`s <br> romance <br> But what`s this thing the call supply <br> and demand? <br><br> I said well I grow cotton and you grow corn <br> And you find your dungarees are all worn <br> And me well I got to have somethin` to eat <br> You see? So I make you some brand <br> new threads <br> And now you bake me some fresh <br> corn bread <br> Pretty soon we`ll have shops across <br> the street. <br><br> Well this didn`t work, or so we`ve been told <br> And at that time they didn`t know <br> about gold <br> So they all agreed they`d measure their <br> goods in salt <br> Well that idea had an early endin` <br> `cause they were eatin` more than they <br> were spendin` <br> And besides, whoever heard of keepin` <br> salt in a vault. <br><br> Well folks said gold was the thing to use <br> To pay for stuff like from ships to shoes <br> But it weighed too much and it looked too <br> good to spend <br> So round about sixteen hundred and ninety <br> Somebody started usin` foldin` money <br> And that`s the tale, my friend, from end <br> to end. <br><br> Well I thought it was a damn <br> good explanation <br> I mean a real attempt at communication <br> And I only had me schoolin` up until the <br> time I was ten <br> But the bullfrog right before he <br> hopped away <br> Well I could have sworn I heard him say <br> Your world is still in the tadpole stage, <br> my friend.