Lyrics Watergate Blues - Tom T. Hall

Watergate Blues

McGovern said, «Boys, I think I’m gonna run
Got a lot of work to be done in Washington»
He talked to the poor folks, the blacks and the youth
Humphrey said, «George, I think you gonna lose»
He said, «I want that job myself»
There was Kennedy and Wallace and Muskie in mind
McGovern couldn’t seem to get his ducks all in line
Somebody shot Wallace in Jackson he cried
Muskie might have made it but he broke down and cried
I’ll tell you boys, it’s a hard life
But down in Miami McGovern got it all
A strange-lookin' bunch of folks inside convention hall
McGovern said, «I need someone to carry the South
They picked poor Tom Eagleton but folks found him out
That liberal press, they gotta know it all
Well, McGovern took Shriver and he started to run
Sarge said, «Eunice, let’s have a little fun»
They ran into trouble almost everywhere they went
There was a big commitee to elect the President
I’ll tell you now, they were a smooth group
Well, they broke into Watergate and tapped people’s phones
The FBI and CIA would not leave folks alone
The people in the White House were burstin' with pride
When the votes were all counted it was a big landslide
The USA bought a new used car
Russia and Vietnam and China were cool
The American press, they could not find any news
So they dug into Watergate and the further they went
It seemed as if they might just run into the President
You know it was a big shock
Where there was Haldeman and Gray and Mitchell and Dean
A whole lot of folks were shakin' on the White House scene
They patched up the cracks but the dam broke loose
Watergate was all you could read in the news
And Dicky said, «that's news to me»
But there’s Lincoln and Roosevelt and Truman and Ike
All turnin' over in their graves every night
And somehow my mind goes back to Betsy Ross
Nobody knows what this country has lost
I will repeat, it’s a hard life
Well, somewhere in this country there’s a hard-workin' man
Readin' his paper as he tries to understand
Are there no honest people left anymore?
One might well heed hear a poundin' on his door
If it gets that way, Lord help us all