Before the Bombs Fell

Good news, America! The future is on sale. Survival sold separately. A robot pours the coffee, the television grins, Sugar Bombs for breakfast while the daily briefing spins. Chrome along the driveway, hunger down the street, A sun beneath the hood, but not enough to eat. The wells ran low; the flags went high, Alaska took our sons while the newsmen sold us pride. Put Canada under the stars and stripes, Called it keeping peace on the news each night. Keep your chin up, keep in line, Keep your papers in your hand. Every problem has a price tag, Every nightmare has a brand. Before the bombs fell, before the last call, We bought tomorrow with our backs to the wall. Dance, little darling, let the good times roll, Put a down payment on a very deep hole. Before the bombs fell, they said we'd be fine, Just sign your name on the dotted line. Raise up your glass like they said we should: It's the end of the world, and business is good! Vault-Tec at the doorstep with a blue-and-yellow grin, A future sealed in concrete - just imagine moving in. A mother checks the paperwork, a father checks the price, A painted family promises a second paradise. They ask your age. They count your kin. They never say what waits within. A hundred little questions in a confidential file - They call it peace of mind. We practice how to smile. Space is limited! So is the human race. Vault-Tec: we'll take it from here. Before the bombs fell, before the last call, We bought tomorrow with our backs to the wall. Dance, little darling, let the good times roll, Put a down payment on a very deep hole. Before the bombs fell, they said we'd be fine, Just sign your name on the dotted line. Raise up your glass like they said we should: It's the end of the world, and business is good! Kids beneath the school desks, shoes against the floor, Practicing tomorrow like the dozen times before. A siren at the factory, another drill at nine, The jukebox keeps on playing, so the world must still be fine. Nuka-Cola sweating in my hand, A postcard from a war I couldn't understand. We learned to hum the warning till it sounded like a tune, And leave a place at dinner for somebody coming soon. But you kept planting flowers by the kitchen door, Said the spring would bring us something worth waiting for. Our little girl drew three of us beneath a yellow sun; She hadn't learned that light could be a reason we should run. I didn't need forever, just another ordinary day - Your coat across the banister, your shoes left in the way. When you asked if we'd be safe, I said the words I knew. Not because I trusted them. I needed them to be true. Before the bombs fell, before the last call, We bought tomorrow with our backs to the wall. Dance, little darling, let the good times roll, Put a down payment on a very deep hole. Before the bombs fell, you put your hand in mine, The man inside the television said we'd all be fine. I turned it up louder like they said I should: It's the end of the world, and business is good! And now, another beautiful morning - We interrupt this program...