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Times Bein What They Are

from Too Much of a Good Thing by Sam Steffen

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lyrics

Daddy sent a card at Christmas sayin he’s sorry he couldn’t make it home
Mama had to borrow money from the neighbor just to make a supper from the butcher’s bone
That year we didn’t get no stockings—but the schools were closed on account of snow
I remember mama sitting us all down and sayin, “Presents ain’t always store-bought things you know—
It’s sometimes when you feel like cryin that you oughtta thank your lucky star
With this world bein the way it is—and these times bein what they are

I come from Pennsylvania, a steel town they call Bethlehem
The stacks ain’t fired since ‘03—and now there’s casinos right on top of them
I’ve since lived in other places—a few of them have felt like home
But I never seem to stick round too long—there’s just too much of this damn world to roam
If there’s a place and y’all’re going, I’ll take the last seat in that car
With this world being the way it is and these times bein what they are

As soon as I got out of high school, I went off to college and took on debt
In hindsight the diploma ain’t done much for me and the loans still aren’t paid off yet
Someday I’ll be retirement ready but Lord knows I won’t have a dime to show
Cause healthcare costs what retirement used to and social security’s goin the way of the buffalo—
Boom or bust or desperation—any I’d say would be right on par
With this world being the way it is and these times being what they are

I met a girl way out of my own league, I knew it couldn’t ever last too long
It was the first time I ever fell in love with someone, it was the first and only time that I wasn’t wrong—
She said, ‘Sam, you know what your whole hang-up is? You’re about as broken as the worst I’ve seen
You pretend to be living on the up-and-up, but really you’re just living on the in-between
When she left she said, “You ought to thank me—it’s not everyone would let you keep those scars
With this world being the way it is and these times being what they are—"

I went in person to the factory to inquire after one of them jobs
Foreman said they weren’t hiring—matter of fact, they were getting ready to lay some people off
So I turned and started walkin, half-way home I stopped to wet my beak
Bartender said I looked like I’d just stepped in from a years-long losing streak
He poured a beer, slid it to me, said “Your money’s no good at my bar—
With this world bein the way it is and these times being what they are—”

TV says there’s been another mass shooting—the politicians have nothin to say
They act like they can’t do anything about it, but they keep taking contributions from the NRA
And the worse it gets the more I’m certain that calling for the police just ain’t right—
If the violence of the civilian world don’t kill you, police brutality always might
You can sit by and say it ain’t your problem, but one of these days you’re gonna be forced to spar
With this world being the way it is and these times being what they are—

When most folks are in debt and struggling because 1% hold most of a nation’s wealth
And there’s still the mindset that drugs is criminal rather than a matter of public health
The prison cells are overflowing with folks whose crimes don’t begin to compare
to the double-dealing, power-abusing two-faced legislators who put them there
But nothing comes as too surprising, the absurd don’t even feel bizarre
With this world bein the way it is and these times bein what they are

The forests are all catching fire, mother nature’s been keepin score
Pollution is just the air we’re breathin from San Francisco to the Jersey Shore
Planet Earth is on its last legs, it’s resources will all be used up soon
Instead of working to develop sustainable solutions, scientists are seein bout building colonies on the moon
I spose I should be singing – Ain’t we lucky to have got this far?
With this world bein the way it is and these times bein what they are

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from Too Much of a Good Thing, released October 8, 2023

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Sam Steffen Boise, Idaho

Sam Steffen is a Pennsylvania-bred, Boise-based singer-songwriter whose songs are the torch-wood for a new generation of folk music that has learned from the best stuff in the tradition and aims in spite of everything to keep the human spirit alive and kicking. A versatile musician and skilled finger-picker, Sam is at heart a story-teller, and a prolific one. ... more

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