The Lottery
🎶
The Lottery
(To the tune of “The Bowery”)
Lyrics by a Cheapskate Poet-Economist
Verse 1
They flash the prize in neon light,
While odds go dark and fade from sight.
I bought one once, felt rich that day—
Then checked the numbers… walked away.
The Lottery, the Lottery!
They say you’ll win, and they show you grins,
The Lottery, the Lottery!
I’ll never play that game no more!
Verse 2
They said, “It funds the schools, my friend!”
But potholes grew and books got penned
By lobbyists in tailored suits,
While kids still learn in broken boots.
The governor smiled, the ads got slick,
The jackpot grew—but not too quick.
I scratched away my grocery cash,
For one more dream, then watched it crash.
The Lottery, the Lottery!
It lifts the rich and drains the poor!
The Lottery, the Lottery!
I’ll never play that game no more!
Verse 3
(With apologies to hope and reason)
They say it’s just a bit of fun—
A harmless bet, a dollar run.
But fun, my friend, should not require
That rent be late and lights expire.
They sell you hope in plastic wraps,
Then fund a stadium, not school maps.
The Powerball’s a Trojan horse—
It steals your wallet, then your course.
The Lottery, the Lottery!
They bait you in with dreams galore—
The Lottery, the Lottery!
I’ll never play that game no more!
Bridge to Despair
(slow and minor)
I saw a man with trembling hands,
He spent his change, ignored demands.
His wife said, “Please, we need the bread”—
He bought a dream and scratched instead.
The clerk just smiled, he’d seen it too,
The hopes that die in neon blue.
One in millions might feel the thrill…
The rest just chase what never will.
Final Verse – Redemption Song (for the Frugal Few)
I keep my bucks in mason jars,
Not buried deep in slot machines or bars.
I budget dreams and rhyme my fate—
I’d rather think than speculate.
They mocked me once, they’ll mock again,
But numbers don’t pretend, my friend.
I’ll sip my tea and watch them chase
The rainbow’s end through empty space.
The Lottery, the Lottery!
They spin you tales, but I know more—
The Lottery, the Lottery!
I’ll never play that game no more!