The Little Mouse - Malvina Reynolds

A little mouse got into the wires

At the central clearing house in Buenos Aires

One little mouse short circuited the computers

Says a press dispatch from Reuters

Hooray for the little mouse

That mucked1 up the clearing house

And threw the Stock Exchange in a spin

And made the bankers cry

So much for the electronic brains

That run the world of banks and aeroplanes

And if one little mouse can set them all awry

Why not you and I?

Spoken:

Then there was another item in the papers

About a bank’s computers

That messed up the accounts

So the farmer’s checks all bounced

So his business fell apart

And it nearly broke his heart

So he took the bank to court

And they gave him an award

Of a hundred and fifty thousand dollars

The bank appealed and on due consideration

The higher court doubled the compensation

So if a computer does it to you

You can sue, or chew the wires through