This morning, I woke up and flipped on the BBC Radio News feed, as is my routine. You know, just to make sure the planet hadn’t exploded during the night. The announcer recited the phrase “coup in Waga-doo-goo,” and I said to myself, “there’s gotta be a song there.”
So, here it is, “A Topical Song.” [not a Josephmooon collaboration]
But, where in the world is Waga-doo-doo?
Of course, the news report was about military actions currently developing in Burkina-Faso’s capital city, Ouagadougou. If last year’s coup in Myanmar offers any example, this takeover has the potential to impact the lives of countless Africans already belaboured by myriad survival issues, from famine to tribal warfare.
But it’s just the latest hot spot on the globe.
A Topical Song
They got a coup in Ouagadougou
Unrest in Ukraine, Syria an the Middle East
You know it’s not hard to explain
The world’s a mess there’s no dispute
And who will take my bet?
I’ve got a quarter of a bitcoin says
We ain’t seen nothing yet
Let’s talk about the planet
The icebergs melting fast
Ya got polar bears carrying signs that say, “We ain’t gonna last”
The power grid infrastructure sure could use repair
‘Cuz when I turn on the radio my music’s never there
Well the world’s on fire
And one thing you should know
You gotta have hope
If you want to sur-vive
Yeah the world’s on fire
One day it’s gonna blow
So strap on in for the ride of your life
There’s way too many billionaires
Oh, how they like to laugh
The One Percenters own the mine and we all get the shaft
Let’s send ‘em all into outer space, right where they belong
As soon as they pay a living wage
For streaming this here song
CHORUS
Disposable is what we are
Swallowed up by plastic
Tryin’ not to choke on our own smoke
Might get rather drastic
Lost in the supply chain
Lost identity
Lost respect for those who lie and spread hypocrisy
CHORUS
Yeah, the world’s on fire
But this I gotta say
Can’t help but thinkin’
Although the clock is tickin’
That maybe, maybe, maybe someday
Everything will be OK.