Songtext Pick it up Stan Ridgway

Pick it up

A signal swings and the lights turn off
And a missing man begins to cough
And no one knows the lost ones from the found
And lady luck, well, she can't explain
To a hardened coin or a bill, the game
It seems everything changes hands when it hits the ground

They said it's dog eat dog, cat eat mouse
And mouse eat cheese and the cheese just smells
The warning systems ring but help won't come.
And all the calling cards and the walking sticks
And the hidden punches and the coward's kicks
Say we got a big mouthful now

Chorus:
Pick it up and put it in your pocket
Or somebody else will
Pick it up and put it in your pocket
Or somebody else just will
Repeat as necessary

Now the world's a road and for miles around
On every inch of unclaimed ground, hide rewards for some but all the rest
Spin a creepy wheel or they trip the stair
While the new school boys just can't play fair
In a place that leaves its money in its mess

Chorus repeat

Now an old man with a paper bag
And a list so long on a dirty rag
Checks each item that he will throw or keep
But he'll never thank the coin that's bent
Or a greenback bill that a stranger sent
But he'll pick 'em just the same
And then he'll thank the street

He turns and says it's dog eat dog
And cat eat mouse
And mouse eat cheese
And the cheese just smells

Now i don't wanna seem to say
That the time ahead won't be okay
But the scale is loaded down
With the weight of sixteen tons
And the ones that have
Tell the ones that don't
To tell the ones that can't
About the ones who won't
And there's no place left here
'round to run

Chorus repeat endlessly