Visibility

If they decide tomorrow
To close off the city
And flood it
And kill everyone in it

Where would I go?

Nowhere

I'd stay here

Here's my city

Here's where I grew up

In the papers it says
A girl kissed another girl
And one girl's a movie star
So that's news

I haven't eaten in two days
That's not news

Can you figure out what news is?

I can't

In the papers it says
That woman who was running for Mayor
Said the wrong thing
And now she can't be Mayor

She was going to get me food
That's what she said

I met her

Shook her hand

They took my photo

I'm in the paper

But you can't see me

Not anymore

Every paper I find
Had my picture in it
It's not there no more

Faded out, the picture

In every paper, it's faded out

'Cause I'm a supehero

Did you know that?

I know tricks you don't know

I can go without food for years
And keep warm when it's snowing out
And I can sleep upside down like a bat

I've adapted to live here
Because here's where I wanna be
So the city gave me special powers
So I could survive

It should have given that lady
Who wanted to be mayor
Some powers too
So she could have known what to say
And what not to say

Today someone stopped me on the street
And he had a big stack of papers in his hands
Same thing on each one
Should have just printed one
And let everybody share it

He asked me who I was voting for
And I said I don't vote
And he said why
And I said 'cause I'm not important
And he said sure you are
And I said no no no
And he said even if you're not important you still get to vote

But voting means being a part of it
It means being a part of them
They get to do what they want
The important people

If they want to flood the city
If they want to shut off the lights
If they want to round up people like me
And dump us somewhere
They don't have to look at us
Then that's what they're going to do

But I don't have to be them
I have to do a lot of stuff I don't like to do
Like sleeping upside down
But I do not have to be them
If I don't want to be

And I don't want to be

If I were important
I would put a roof over the city
And plant more trees
And keep it warm all year round
Like it was down south
All the time

I'd make everybody dress nice
And shake hands with each other
And I'd clean everything up
And I wouldn't waste paper printing the same thing
And I wouldn't bother with voting or elections or any of that stuff
Because that's just so important people
Can feel even more important
Than they already are

If I was important I'd know I was important
And that would be it

But I'd have to be the most important person
Otherwise you're always worried
About whoever is over you
Looking down on you

So if I couldn't be the best of them
I'd rather just keep being faded out

And if they flood the city
I'll be all right

'Cause I know how to swim