I was standing at a Guan-yin shrine
Somewhere outside Shanghai
Incense burning, prayers and offerings
Old woman caught my eye
She looked me up and down real slow
Like she could see right through
Then said something in broken English
That cut me clean in two
“You Americans,” she said
Shaking her head with a smile that wasn’t mean
Just… knowing
“You spend like there’s no tomorrow
And you eat like you have free health care”
I started to argue, started to protest
But she just turned away from there
Left me standing with my pride all bruised
And something worse than that
A mirror held up by a stranger’s hand
Showing me the facts
Honey, we gotta talk
About the way we’re living now
Maxed out cards and value meals
And wondering why we’re breaking down
That woman at the shrine saw clear
What we can’t see at all
We’re spending like there’s no tomorrow
And eating like we’ll never fall
I flew home in a metal tube
Thirty thousand feet
Plastic trays of processed food
And credit card receipts
Landed in the land of plenty
Super-sized and on sale
Started seeing it everywhere I looked
This American fairy tale
Drive-thru lines at breakfast, lunch and dinner
Shopping carts piled high
Pharmacy counters getting longer
While the grocery aisles multiply
Blood pressure meds and diabetes pills
Bankruptcy and debt
Living like tomorrow’s guaranteed
Like we ain’t seen nothing yet
Honey, we gotta talk
About the way we’re living now
Maxed out cards and value meals
And wondering why we’re breaking down
That woman at the shrine saw clear
What we can’t see at all
We’re spending like there’s no tomorrow
And eating like we’ll never fall
Now I got a garden in the city
Real bread rising on my table
Trying to remember what my grandma knew
Before we lost the abil…ability to see
What’s nourishing and what’s just noise
What’s freedom and what’s just toys
Sometimes I think about that woman
And Guan-Yin looking down
Compassion sees what we can’t see
When we’re spinning ‘round and ‘round
She wasn’t being cruel or cold
Just telling what was true
The way the world sees us clear
When we can’t see it too
Honey, we gotta talk
About the way we’re living now
Maxed out cards and value meals
And wondering why we’re breaking down
That woman at the shrine saw clear
What I couldn’t see at all
We’re spending like there’s no tomorrow
And eating like we’ll never fall
Yeah, we’re spending like there’s no tomorrow
And eating like we’ll never fall
Yeah, we’re spending like there’s no tomorrow
And eating like we’ll never fall
Guan-Yin’s compassion comes in strange ways
Sometimes it’s a stranger’s truth
That wakes you up