A Song For Our Time

Another song from Fiorello! is one that never goes out of style, but seems particularly relevant today, what with Dale Gribble Tom Delay and others making news for their absolutely one hundred percent legal and ethical actions. It's "Little Tin Box," about the corruption scandals of Tammany Hall:

Mr. X, may we ask you a question?
It's amazing, is it not,
That the city pays you slightly less than fifty bucks a week,
Yet you've purchased a private yacht?

I am positive your Honor must be joking!
Any working man can do what I have done.
For a month or two I simply gave up smoking,
And I put my extra pennies one by one

Into a little tin box,
A little tin box
That a little tin key unlocks.
There is nothing unorthodox
About a little tin box.
In a little tin box.
A little tin box
That a little tin key unlocks.
There is honor and purity,
Lots of security,
In a little tin box.

Mr. Y, we've been told you don't feel well,
And we know you've lost your voice,
But we wonder how you managed on the salary you make
To acquire a new Rolls-Royce.

You're implyin' I'm a crook and I say no, sir!
There is nothin' in my past I care to hide.
I been takin' emply bottles to the grocer
And each nickel that I got was put aside
(That he got was put aside)

Into a little tin box,
A little tin box
That a little tin key unlocks.
There is nothing unorthodox
About a little tin box.
In a little tin box,
A little tin box
There's a cushion for life's rude shocks.
There is faith, hope and charity,
Hard-won prosperity,
In a little tin box.

Mr. Z, you're a junior official
And your income's rather low,
Yet you've kept a dozen women in the very best hotels,
Would you kindly explain how so?

I can see your Honor doesn't pull his punches,
And it looks a trifle fishy, I'll admit.
But for one whole week I went without my lunches,
And it mounted up, your Honor, bit by bit.
(Up your Honor, bit by bit.)

It's just a little tin box,
A little tin box
That a little tin key unlocks.
There is nothing unorthodox
About a little tin box.
In a little tin box,
A little tin box
All a-glitter with blue-chip stocks.
There is something delectable,
Almost respectable,
In a little tin box,
In a little tin box.