Chuck Brodsky Boys In The Back Room Lyrics

The boys in the back room
Who use to run the city
Anyway they wanted to
They were stealing from the kitty
Stomping out their cigars
Any place they wanted to
What you could go to jail for
They could do in front of you

The boys in the back room
Sat on the commissions
That were supposed to regulate
Factory emissions
Toxins in the air
Toxins in the water
These were our protectors
They were sanctioning the slaughter

The boys in the back room
Didn't like attention
Drawn to their activities
Which the paper never mentioned
Thanks to the editor
Who was a good ol' friend of theirs'
So was the police chief
And also the developers
The boys in the back room
Went golfing every Sunday
They had a game of pinochle
That happened every Monday Tuesdays were the meetings
Where the public was invited
Where they went through all the motions
But no wrongs were ever righted

The boys in the back room
On Wednesdays traded favors
They had a secret handshake
And other such behavior
They fixed traffic tickets
Granted exemptions and waivers
Awarded city contracts
To associates and neighbors

The boys in the back room
Were desperate to hold on
Assassinating characters
Of whoever might've told on them
But the day did finally come
When they stood before a jury
Some were sent to prison
It was a one paragraph story
The boys in the back room
Who just used to make the rules
Any way they wanted to
They thought they still had the people fooled