Modern Lullaby
Dark and cynical like politicians' dreams
1
Sleep, my dearest child, let the night go by
As your mommy sings this modern lullaby.
.
The world is heating up, poles are losing ice.
Heating costs won’t drop but, hey, isn’t that nice?
.
So dream, my dearest, dream about electric cars.
Let’s hope we won’t die before we conquer Mars!
.
Chorus:
La la la la boat, la la la la stream,
La la la la... No, it’s not a dream!
.
It’s not that easy to survive in these crazy times,
Humor may be enough to save you or put you behind the bars!
Best be grateful that they let you use their marked cards,
Wear a suit, say thank you
When history rolls a dice.
.
2
Robot friends are here to lessen our load.
They can sing, write, paint and even code.
.
We’re so happy they are coming to our aid!
If you aren’t, you sure hallucinate.
.
So sleep, my baby, sleep, and don’t you cry or sob
While stupid AI is taking mommy’s job!
.
Chorus:
La la la la boat, la la la la stream,
La la la la... No, it’s not a dream!
.
It’s not that easy to survive in these crazy times,
Humor may be enough to save you or put you behind the bars!
Best be grateful that they let you use their marked cards,
Wear a suit, say thank you
When history rolls a dice.
.
3
History makes a move and we are but its pawns,
No matter how you play, all power goes to cons.
.
Former friends can spar, break and go away
Some shat in the sandbox, now don’t wanna play.
.
Sleep, my dearest child, don’t make any plans,
They could tumble down like a house of cards.
.
Chorus:
La la la la boat, la la la la stream,
La la la la... No, it’s not a dream!
.
It’s not that easy to survive in these crazy times,
Humor may be enough to save you or put you behind the bars!
Best be grateful that they let you use their marked cards,
Wear a suit, say thank you
When history rolls a dice.
.
4
Let’s have tariffs here, and let’s drop sanctions there!
They trump everything, hitting fair and square.
.
Europe’s panicking, Greenland stupefied,
And Canadians mindful what they buy.
.
Who’s the villain now, who’s your friend and foe?
These are crazy times, so you can never know.
.
Chorus:
La la la la boat, la la la la stream,
La la la la... No, it’s not a dream!
.
It’s not that easy to survive in these crazy times,
Humor may be enough to save you or put you behind the bars!
Best be grateful that they let you use their marked cards,
Wear a suit, say thank you
When history rolls a dice.
.
5
Sleep, my dearest child, may your eyes stay dry
The times change faster than mommy’s lullaby.
.
May your sweetest dreams be undisturbed by drones
And let’s hope no bombs will crush our homes!
.
Sleep, my dearest child, as the armies clash.
If a nuke goes off we all will turn to ash!
.
Chorus:
La la la la boat, la la la la stream,
La la la la... No, it’s not a dream!
.
It’s not that easy to survive in these crazy times,
Humor may be enough to save you or put you behind the bars!
Best be grateful that they let you use their marked cards,
Doesn’t matter how you play
‘Cause no one’s playing nice.
.
La la la la boat, la la la la stream,
La la la la! La, laa, laaa, laaaa… oops!
.
Author's note: Feel free to guess the melody. Yes, you guessed it right but there are no monetary prizes, sorry. Fancy hearing it too? Then I suggest having a karaoke session at home. You don't want to hear the author's asthmatic voice, take my word for it.
About the Creator
Katarzyna Popiel
A translator, a writer. Two languages to reconcile, two countries called home.
Reader insights
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Top insights
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
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Comments (6)
🤩 Awesome lyrics and sobering message! Happy belated congrats!!!
This is top notch stuff...Congratulations
Wooohooooo congratulations on your win! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
These lyrics are so clever! I like the one about marked cards best 😁
Definitely a song for these times for sure!! Well done. This was so good.
It’s a pity that Leonard Cohen is not around to sing this in his dark baritone. Incredible song, Katarzyna! Too bad we can’t wish away the song’s inspiration.