"Equality Polemic (Some Are More Equal Than Others)"

by Joseph McCombs

Jason grew up in a small steel town
It was a long time ago that the mills shut down
From the age of five on, his dad was never around
No one shows their faces much in Barrytown

I was up the hill, many miles away
At a well-developed school with places to play
Mom and Dad would pick me up every day
And ask me what I learned in class today

          And we were both growing up
          In a land of equal opportunity
          You can go as far as your will
          In a land of equal opportunity

I played ball for my high school team
We were state champs in '93
College recruiters often came to see
How much bigger and better we still could be

Jason's team went three and six
He played for a while but he had to quit
He had to take a job on the evening shift
That didn't leave him time to study or sit

          And we were both growing up
          In a land of equal opportunity
          Oh, the teenage years are a thrill
          In a land of equal opportunity

          And we were both growing up
          In a land of equal opportunity
          You can go as far as your will
          In a land of equal opportunity

I ran into Jason one day at 8 in the morn
I was buying a few things, he was minding the store
He said with a sneer, "What are you smilin' for"
And I replied, "Why do you think life's such a chore?"
He said, "It's easy when you've got an open door
And all the club presidents are friends of yours.
But some of us don't get to be that adored
And we're stuck spending our lives scrubbing floors.
I'm sure it must be nice to see PGA tours
And never have to deal with a dirty landlord
And never find out what food stamps are for
And never catch a glimpse of the crackheads and whores.
I know your dad bought that gym membership of yours
And your teachers kept an eye on your SAT scores
And the country club gave you a caddy job and more
And you don't appreciate what it's like to be poor.
Now, this ain't self-pity, just the truth to the core:
I never got to know your open doors.
I'd really love to chat with you a little while more,
But you've got your business, I've gotta run the store."

A part of me wanted to apologize
That it was me and not him getting all the free rides
It wasn't my fault, I did realize,
But there was a truth there I could not deny...

          We had both grown up
          In a land of equal opportunity
          You can go as far as your will
          In a land of equal opportunity

          We had both grown up
          In a land of equal opportunity
          Yeah, but differences can kill
          In a land of equal opportunity.

Back