Old Man Atom (aka Talking Atomic Blues)
Composer(s): Vern Partlow; Irving Bibo
Performer(s): Sons of The Pioneers; The Weavers
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini
I'm gonna preach you all a sermon
About Old Man Atom, that's me
I don't mean the Adam in the Bible datum
I don't mean the Adam that Mother Eve elated
I mean that thing that science liberated
The thing that Einstein says he's scared of
And when Einstein's scared
Brother, you'd better be scared
If you're scared of the atom, here's what's you gotta do
You gotta gather all the people in the world with you
'Cause if you don't get together and do it
Well, first thing you know I'm gonna blow this world plum too
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini
Now life used to be such a simple joy
My cyclotron was just a super toy
And folks got born, they'd work and marry
And "atom" was a word in the dictionary
And then it happened
The science boys, from every clime
They all pitched in with overtime
And before they knew it
The thing was done
And they'd hitched up the power of the Golden Sun
And put a harness on Old Sol
Splittin' atoms
While the diplomats was splittin' hairs
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini
But the atom's here in spite of hysteria
Flourishes in Utah as well as Siberia
And whether you're a black, white, red or brown
The question is this, when you boil it down
To be or not to be, that's the question
The answer to it all ain't military datum
Like who gets there firstest with the mostest atoms
No, the people of the world must decide their fate
They gotta get together or disintegrate
I hold this truth to be self-evident
That all men may be cremated equal
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini
Yes, it's up to the people
'Cause the atoms don't care
You can't fence me in, I'm just like air
I don't give a hoot about any politics
Or who got what into whichever fix
All I want to do is sit around
And have my nucleus bombarded by neutrons
Now the moral is this, just as plain as day
That Old Man Atom is here to stay
I'm gonna stick around and that's for true
But, ah, my dearly beloved, are you?
So listen folks, here is my thesis
Peace in the world or the world in pieces
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini
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