Bullfrog Lyrics

Bullfrog lyrics

I was sittin' by the bank on a hollow stump 

      When I thought I heard me a bullfrog jump 

      Turned around and sure enough there 

         he sat 

      He said excuse me, buddy, but I've been 

         readin' your news 

      And I'm sorry to say that I'm a 

         little confused 

      You bein' human, well you'd know where 

         it's at. 



      He said I read where this old world's 

         gonna fold 

      And all on account of a think called gold 

      And that's somethin' hard for us frogs 

         to understand 

      Now you're lookin' at me like I'm 

         kinda funny 

      But where I live we don't have no money 

      So we want to be hip to the happ'nin's 

         here on land. 



      Now I thought I was stoned so I 

         started walkin' 

      I mean whoever heard of a bullfrog talkin' 

      But then I realized I hadn't been grazin' 

         in no grain 

      So I figured I'd tell him just what I thought 

      'bout how gold was sold and how gold 

         was bought 

      And he'd understand our world when 

         I explained. 



      I said it all started a long time ago 

      When the people first learned to reap 

         and sow 

      They got all the things they needed right 

         out of the earth 

      Like how many leaves and how many trees 

      Would it take to cover up the anatomies 

      And that's how you figured how much a suit 

         of clothes was worth. 



      Well then man he learned how to milk a cow 

      And how to till the soil with a stone 

         blade plow 

      And he kept so busy he never had time to 

         do you harm 

      Then he'd take his produce and all that milk 

      And go into town and trade them for silk 

      So his woman she'd look sharp down at 

         the farm. 



      Well the bullfrog let out a belly croak 

      Like I'd told him some kind of a joke 

      And he said I think you're jivin' me my man 

         (what me?) 

      I said I know it sounds kinda mystifyin' 

      But the truth of the matter is I ain't lyin' 

      I mean I ain't talkin' no bullfrog, 

         you understand? 



      He said now don't get upset I'm not 

         agin' you 

      You just go ahead, go ahead and continue 

      And I'll be quiet and try to understand 

      He said I know about trees and leaves 

         and plants 

      And milk and silk and the farmer's 

         romance 

      But what's this thing the call supply 

         and demand? 



      I said well I grow cotton and you grow corn 

      And you find your dungarees are all worn 

      And me well I got to have somethin' to eat 

      You see?  So I make you some brand 

         new threads 

      And now you bake me some fresh 

         corn bread 

      Pretty soon we'll have shops across 

         the street. 



      Well this didn't work, or so we've been told 

      And at that time they didn't know 

         about gold 

      So they all agreed they'd measure their 

         goods in salt 

      Well that idea had an early endin' 

      'cause they were eatin' more than they 

         were spendin' 

      And besides, whoever heard of keepin' 

         salt in a vault. 



      Well folks said gold was the thing to use 

      To pay for stuff like from ships to shoes 

      But it weighed too much and it looked too 

         good to spend 

      So round about sixteen hundred and ninety 

      Somebody started usin' foldin' money 

      And that's the tale, my friend, from end 

         to end. 



      Well I thought it was a damn 

         good explanation 

      I mean a real attempt at communication 

      And I only had me schoolin' up until the 

         time I was ten 

      But the bullfrog right before he 

         hopped away 

      Well I could have sworn I heard him say 

      Your world is still in the tadpole stage, 

         my friend.