Wilted Daisies - Joshua James

Pretty, pretty wilted daisies all in a row

On the top of Mt. Vernon in the dirty snow

Where the shadows sing of sunshine like a dying crow

Pretty, pretty wilted daisies all in a row

You’re waving high into the night time of a New York street

Your newly painted yellow taxi has dirty seats

You’re racing quick into the nightclub, so that you can see

The same old sick and sadly strangers always seem to meet

'Cause it’s a long way to and a short ride from the top

It’s a rotting middle finger and the cancer will not stop

It’s a long way to and a short ride from the top

Well, your hand begins to slip or they cut and either way you drop

Your small apartment is a mess but you don’t seem to care

The dirty dishes in the corner go with the broken chairs

And higher grows the stack of bills that calmly declare

If you don’t pay within a week then your shit is theirs

You go to work Monday through Sunday, open to close

The seven dollars that they pay you, son, is good as a broken nose

When no one’s watching, pull your pants down, touch your toes

You’re undercut and you’re exploited but that’s how our country grows

'Cause it’s a long way to and a short ride from the top

It’s a rotting middle finger and the cancer will not stop

It’s a long way to and a short ride from the top

And your hand begins to slip or they cut

Either way you take what they have stolen

Or try to break what can’t be broken

You can speak what you believe

But every thought comes preconceived

You try to wash your hands to this

Clear your conscience and dismiss

Pretend our problems don’t exist

We’re taking aspirin for a broken wrist

'Cause it’s a long, long way to the top

Oh, it’s your rotting middle finger and the cancer will not stop

It’s a long, long way to the top

Well, our hands begin to slip or they cut, either way we