Eco Man

Eco Man
by John Forster & Tom Chapin
© 2010 Limousine Music Co. & The Last Music Co. (ASCAP)

When I saw the movie I saw the light.
A voice inside said, “Al Gore's right!”
It's very inconvenient but it's true.
I vowed that I would change my ways
And carbon neutralize my days
And that's exactly what I'm trying to do.

I took the pledge on power tools
And stuff that runs on fossil fuels,
Though last week when I had to move a tree.
I hauled and dragged with all my might
And finally in the dead of night
I went and borrowed my sister's SUV.
It's not easy being green,
Giving up The Big Machine,
My Harley and my chainsaw
And my Camper Caravan.
It kind-a makes me glum
When I hear a hybrid hum.
Lord, it's hard to be an Eco Man!

Me and my eco-conscious spouse
Built a geothermal house
With solar panels crankin' out the amps.
Of course we're proud as we can be,
But dang, it's really hard to see
By the light of those spiral thingies
In our lamps.
It's not easy being green,
I can't read a magazine
On the sofa or in bed at night
Or sitting on the can.
I just grope around the gloom
Of my moonlit living room.
Lord, it's hard to be an Eco Man.

I used to enjoy a Bob's Big Boy
But I'm a carnivore no more because
I took a look at Michael Pollan's book
And found out just how big a
Big Boy's carbon footprint was!
It's not easy being green,
Swearing off the haute cuisine
For a local leafy, all non-beefy dietary plan,
And sometimes I go off point
When I pass a burger joint.
Lord, it's hard to be an Eco Man!

It's not easy being green,
Tryin' to live so squeaky clean.
You feel foolish and alarmist, sure,
But on the other hand,
If the hoops we're jumpin' through
Cool the world a degree or two
Then, I'm glad to be an Eco Man. Yes I am.
I'm glad to be an Eco Man.

This song appears on Tom Chapin's Broadsides CD.

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