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Britannica

from Faulty Gems by Hank Stone

/

lyrics

Britannica

Once, when my brother and I
Were too young to drive a car
We rode our bikes to Flushing;
Maybe that was too far

‘Cause we got caught in the rain
And we got soaked to the bone
Sun came out and we got dry
But it rained again before we got home

We were watching the clouds
Looking out the screen door
Saw the lightning flashing
And we heard the thunder roar

We pulled out Brittanica, Britannica
To read about thunder and rain
We pulled out Brittanica, Britannica
We knew it would explain
everything we’d need to know

The Borough of Queens
Right next to Idlewild
Must have seemed ideal
As a place to raise a child

Until they brought in the jets
With their fumes and with their noise
Soaking into the dreams
Of all us girls and boys

We turned up the TV sound
Plugged in our electric guitars
Flipped the bird to those 707s
And revved up our muscle cars

We pulled out Brittanica, Britannica
To learn how noise affected the brain
We pulled out Brittanica, Britannica
We knew it would explain
everything we’d need to know




Now you can cite Wikipedia
and say the Internet has all we may need
but 24 volumes of hardbound knowledge is a joy that is hard to supersede



Assigned a report for school
I’d put it off til the last day
Because it just wasn’t as much fun
As going outside to play

But I grew to love those volumes
And their pages as they turned
I may fill a thousand books
With everything I’ve learned

From Britannica, Britannica,

From ukulele to Ukraine
Britannica, Britannica,
To educate and entertain
Britannica, Britannica,
From Casablanca to cocaine
Britannica, Britannica,
The sacred and profane
Britannica, Britannica,
I’ll continue til you complain
Britannica, Britannica,
Sycamore and plantain
Britannica, Britannica,
Abscissa and domain
Britannica, Britannica,
The rain in Spain will sustain
Britannica, Britannica,
We knew it would explain
everything we’d need to know
everything we’d need to know

credits

from Faulty Gems, released January 28, 2023

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Hank Stone New York

Most excellent songwright. Interpretive singer and guitarist. Harmonica hobbyist.

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