9. The Kid With The Comic Book

Lyrics & music: Trevor Mills
© 2003 Trevor Mills

Vocals & guitar: Mike Agranoff
Recorded live in concert at Bound for Glory, Ithaca, NY on October 5, 2014.

A modern fable, perhaps suitable for a Unitarian hymnal.  Trevor Mills is the son of Paul Mills, AKA Curly Boy Stubbs, who was Stan Rogers' guitarist and producer.

The Earth was delivered in a cellophane wrapper to a
God-like kid by Galactic Courier.
He'd placed an order from the back of a comic book he'd read
When he should have been in school

He had a project due in his Socio-Anthro-
Eco-Geo-Bio and Creationism course
That he should have been working on Instead of playing games
With his gang of omnipotent pals.

The project was due in 100,000 years which can
Hardly be construed as near enough time
To populate a planet with intelligent beings
Who can live in a self-sustaining way

But he saw in the comic book an ad for a planet
With a species on the brink of developing intelligence,
They said it could be shipped in a cellophane wrapper.
He thought, "It's my ticket to an A"

Now it may seem to you that 100,000 years is a
Long long time from our perspective,
But the kid with the comic will see a million years pass
By like the twinkling of a star.

So the kid put the Earth on the desk in his bedroom,
Underneath a heat lamp that he kept on a timer.
On the ceiling he made constellations out of stickers
That were stars that could glow in the dark

And he watched as the species on the brink of intelligence
Grew, found fire, built bombs and exploded them.
He cried when he learned that the killing was so often
Interspersed with invoking of his name. [Originally, "...the praising of his name."]

So the kid reached out and turned up the heat lamp,
Took a magnifying glass from the shelf in the cupboard,
He searched the Earth for a symbolic little bush,
He focused and it burst into flame.

And when the bush was burning the people got the message and the
Leaders agreed to take responsibility and
Base their actions on a true accountability
And promise that they'd try to get along.

So the kid took the Earth to his teacher who accepted it and
Saw good work and the room for improvement.
"Not a bad first try, B-plus and excitement for your
Many more creations still to come.

So now the Earth is safe in bubble wrap there on the
Floor of the closet of the kid with the comic book.
His Mother looks in every now and again to
Ensure things will work out in the end.

And we're sure things will work out in the end.