02 The Preference Polka

2. The Preference Polka They played a little warning Like a fiddle made of fog And everybody bowed there To a rule that never was They had a little preference So they dressed it like command They never said forbidden But they raised a shaking hand They never showed a statute They never showed a mark They only dimmed the room down Till the plain thing looked dark One step from the counter Two steps from the sale Turn around and wonder If a bargain sends you to jail Bow before the poster Let the warning have its way That is how a preference Learns to make people obey Round and round the floor To a rule nobody wrote One hand on the wallet One hand at the throat Nobody said forbidden Nobody showed the crime But fear knew all the music And everybody kept time They said only buy from us now Like the Lord had sent the sign But wanting all the money Does not make the wanting divine They said beware the discount Beware the cheaper road Then acted like the savings Was a sinful heavy load If the stamp is lying Then show where it lied If the paper has a crooked face Then turn the crooked side But if the only trouble Is you did not get the sale That ain’t holy warning That’s a cashbox with a veil Round and round the floor To a rule nobody wrote One hand on the wallet One hand at the throat Nobody said forbidden Nobody showed the crime But fear knew all the music And everybody kept time Preference found a badge And pinned it to its chest Preference found a poster And frightened all the rest Preference found a clerk And put fear in her mouth Preference found a buyer And turned her pockets out Preference found a bargain And called it something low Preference found a market And tried to make it close Preference found the language That made a warning crawl Then called itself protection With no rule there at all Now grandma hid the shoebox Cousin left the sale Sister bought full retail Brother feared the mail Nobody saw a statute Nobody saw a line But everybody heard it In the federal whine The counter turned to courtroom The poster took the stand The clerk became the bailiff With no proof in her hand The buyer came with postage The system said was good But a preference started dancing Where the written rule had stood Round and round the floor To a rule nobody wrote One hand on the wallet One hand at the throat Nobody said forbidden Nobody showed the crime But fear knew all the music And everybody kept time Did they say forbidden? No, they did not say Did they show the mark there? No, not in the day Did they name the statute? No, they named the fear Did they want the money? Now the song comes clear Did they write a law there? No law there at all Did the people dance it? Round and round the hall Round and round the floor To a rule nobody wrote One hand on the wallet One hand at the throat Nobody said forbidden Nobody showed the crime But fear knew all the music And everybody kept time Round and round the floor Mind your little feet When a wish gets dressed in warning And goes marching down the street Nobody said forbidden Nobody made the call But everybody moved there To no rule at all They played a little warning Like a fiddle made of fog And everybody bowed there To a rule that never was