(from “Cut and Run”)


Let me sail you to an island
Where we’ll both have less than nothing
And still be rich as Croesus far as
Anyone’s concerned
And we can live on mangoes
Assuming they have mangoes
And sell junk to the tourists
And squander what we earn

We can find a sunny island
Where the natives all are friendly
And never get too restless
Or care how we behave
Cause we’ll feel so damn romantic
Every time the full moon rises
And the jungle’s green and sticky
And smells like aftershave

So let’s make ourselves a list
Of every little patch of heaven
Just eliminate the juntas
And the military states
And maybe bag those islands
Where they launder all the money
And the ones that have bubonic plague
And bugs and big as plates

We’ll get used to the humidity
It’s good for our complexions
Just lay out on the beach
Like two well-marinated trout
But as much as I like swimming
There’s a limit to my interest
A tsunami every morning
I can really do without

There’s a couple possibilities
Where they even speak some English
And entertaining herbs are just
A couple bucks an ounce
But it seems I read the locals
Rarely live past thirty-seven
And I’d hate to think I died
Of some disease I can’t pronounce

So what’s left? There still a couple
That are mostly underwater
And the pamphlet says the natives
Almost never eat their guests
And that lovely island chain
With the exotic-colored wildlife
And hell, it’s been just ages
Since those atmospheric tests

Okay, forget about the island
Maybe I was hasty
I’d prob’ly just get seasick
Maybe eaten by a shark
And the full moon’s just as pretty
As it rises past the streetlights
And the fog comes in by midnight
And there’s palm trees in the park

So let’s dance around the livingroom
To Harry Belafonte
And get some travel posters
And a great big potted fern
And we still can live on mangoes
If the supermarket’s got ‘em
And sell junk to the tourists
And squander what we earn

Oh darlin’, we don’t have to travel
Just to waste our lives together
If we’re always this romantic and have
Mango dreams to burn
Yes, always this romantic
And have mango dreams to burn