(Track #5 from The Road Less Traveled)

The Right Thing to Do (Wayne’s Song)

By Frank Meyer

Verse 1

Cruisin’ through the village

In a rusty pickup truck

Scratchin’ off them tickets

Hopin’ for a little luck

Dom, he was the first to see

Wayne’s million dollar win

The good old boys went crazy

The whole town could hear the din

Wayne’s luck was short-lived

By something we all dread

Cancer’d come to visit him

And soon he would be dead

But the money gave him one last shot

To keep his death at bay

He could get some treatments

That would prolong his days

Wayne’s light of hope was snuffed out

Everyone was stunned

The lottery refused

To pay him off in one lump sum

Disbelief was widespread

Something was not right

They had heard the governor

Say just the other night

Chorus

You know, it’s not about the money

That is the truth

We do it ‘cause it’s just the

Right thing to do.

Verse 2

News of Wayne’s misfortune

Spread quickly through the state

On the radios and TV shows

He was the topic of debate

Politicians all said

They’d do what they could do

But like most politicians

Well, they never quite came through

So the story quickly faded

Wayne’s life came to an end

The lottery officials

Were on the road again

Generating money

So they could help us all

And the governor gave his famous speech

In all the local halls

Chorus

Instrumental Break

Verse 3

On the day that Wayne died

His widow got the news

The country bar that he once owned

Could no longer sell booze

‘Cause Wayne’s wife was a felon

The state shut the business down

They wouldn’t give her time to sell

To the buyers she had found

So now the bar sits empty

It’s quiet there at night

There are no folks on the front porch

With cigarettes to light

Music is no longer heard

When you pass by in your car

No one hears the governor’s voice

On the TV in the bar.

Chorus

Chorus

©2008 Frank Meyer