the black rats of london

Singer:bruce hornsby

in our beautiful pursuit of manifest destiny

we give ourselves great credit

we thank the good lord so earnestly

but something's been omitted by the writers of history

now stand up all unsung heroes who made this world for you and me

night crawlers cleared the forests of seedlings

nuts and leaves

and everything everywhere dried up and the natives got the dry heaves

mosquitoes brought malaria and bees brought their hives

and the indians got less scarier with yellow skin and eyes

hoorah

hooray

the black rats of london

they crossed the sea for you and me

let's raise a glass so thankfully

hail

hail

hooray

the black rats of london

made the long treacherous passage to

spread their natural juices

a gift to you

a gift to you

parasites decimated the red army of cornwallis and his flock

standing weakly on yorktown battlefield with measles and small pox

horses

hogs

chickens and dogs and john rolfe's prized worms

divine intervention

bacterial strains from imported english dirt

hoorah

hooray

the black rats of london

they crossed the sea for you and me

let's raise a glass so thankfully

hail

hail

hooray

the black rats of london

made the long treacherous passage to

spread their natural juices

a gift to you

natural juices

yes a gift to you

hoorah

hooray

hoorah

hooray

hail

hail

hooray

hoorah

hooray

ray

ray

ray

hoorah

hooray

the black rats of london

they crossed the sea for you and me

let's raise a glass so thankfully

hail

hail

hooray

the black rats of london

they made the long treacherous passage to

spread their natural juices

a gift to you

the black rats of london

they crossed the sea for you and me

let's raise a glass so thankfully

hail

hooray

the black rats of london

made the long treacherous passage to

spread their natural juices

a gift to you

yes a gift to you

pat yourself on the back

you did a great job

and the black rats of london made such a glorious

vicious mob

sorry rene it's just not true

paramecium's have feelings too

where were the black rats when we needed them the most?

there were slave owners to infect

and the joe mengeles of the american west

Lyric Context: the black rats of london - bruce hornsby