Control Of Water

Before the cities
Before the kings
Before the gods with golden rings
A monkey looked up from the mud
And learned the secret lived in blood

River decides
Who gets to eat
Who builds a throne
Who dies in heat
Every empire ever born
Rose where the water cut the stone

You can own the oil
You can own the sky
But when the well runs dry
Everybody dies

The meaning of life
Is control of water
Every son
Every daughter
Every war
Every prayer
Starts with who can take their share

The meaning of life
Ain't written in the stars
It's hidden underground
Beneath our yards
Civilization's just a taller slaughter
Built around control of water

Aqueducts and company towns
Concrete pipes beneath the ground
Every border every line
Follows where the rivers wind

Desert blooms
Then deserts fall
Depending who controls it all
The rich drink cold behind locked gates
The poor stand waiting with empty plates

Flood
Drought
Turn the planet inside out
One broken dam
One poisoned stream
And watch what happens to the dream

The meaning of life
Is control of water
Every saint
Every monster
Every deal
Every gun
Fighting over who gets some

The meaning of life
Ain't wisdom or honor
It's who controls
The rain and harbor
Human history gets shorter
Every time we poison water

First came the river
Then came the crown
Kill the river
And it all falls down