ONE MILLION LAWYERS
by Tom Paxton

Humankind has survived some disasters, I'm sure
Like locusts and flash floods and flu
There's never a moment when we've been secure
From the ills that the flesh is heir to
If it isn't a war, it's some gruesome disease
If it isn't disease, then it's war
But there's worse still to come, and I'm asking you please
How the world's gonna take any more?

(CHORUS:)

In ten years we're gonna have one million lawyers,
One million lawyers, one million lawyers
In ten years we're gonna have one million lawyers
How much can a poor nation stand?

The world shook with dread of Atilla the Hun
As he conquered with fire and steel,
And Genghis and Kubla and all of the Kahns
Ground a groaning world under the heel
Disaster, disaster, so what else is new?
We've suffered the worst and then some
So I'm sorry to tell you, my suffering friends,
Of the terrible scourge still to come

(CHORUS)

(BREAK:)

Oh, a suffering world cries for mercy
As far as the eye can see
Lawyers around every bend in the road,
Laywers in every tree,
Lawyers in restaurants, lawyers in clubs,
Lawyers behind every door,
Behind windows and potted plants, shade trees and shrubs,
Lawyers on pogo sticks, lawyers in politics!

(CHORUS)

In spring there's tornadoes and rampaging floods,
In summer it's heat stroke and draught
There's Ivy League football to ruin the fall,
It's a terrible scourge, without doubt
There are blizzards to batter the shivering plain
There are dust storms that strike, but far worse
Is the threat of disaster to shrivel the brain,
It's the threat of implacable curse

In ten years we're gonna have one million lawyers,
One million lawyers, one million lawyers
In ten years we're gonna have one million lawyers
How much can a poor nation stand?
How much can a poor nation stand