The late Allen Ginsberg first published his poem “The Ballad of the Skeletons” in the pages of this magazine in 1995. A portrait of our world of contradictions, the poem was set to music by Ginsberg in that same year in collaboration with Paul McCartney, Philip Glass and Lenny Kaye. Now, with a new release by Ginsberg Recordings, the song can be heard in its entirety once again. Listen to the recording and read the full poem below with illustrations by Eric Drooker. Check out Ginsberg Recordings' new release here.   AudioPlayer.setup("http://www.thenation.com/sites/thenation.com/modules/contrib/mp3player/mp3player/player.swf", {width:335,animation: "no",remaining: "yes",noinfo: "yes",transparentpagebg: "yes"});

It looks like you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now.

AudioPlayer.embed("mp3player_1", {soundFile: "http://s3.amazonaws.com/thenation/audio/mp3/ThirdParty/01%20The%20Ballad%20Of%20The%20Skeletons.mp3"});

    Said the Presidential skeleton I won’t sign the bill Said the Speaker skeleton Yes you will   Said the Representative skeleton I object Said the Supreme Court skeleton Whaddya expect   Said the Military skeleton Buy Star Bombs Said the Upperclass skeleton Starve unmarried moms   Said the Yahoo skeleton Stop dirty art Said the Right Wing skeleton Forget about yr heart   Said the Gnostic skeleton The Human Form’s divine Said the Moral Majority skeleton No it’s not it’s mine   Said the Buddha skeleton Compassion is wealth Said the Corporate skeleton It’s bad for your health   Said the Old Christ skeleton Care for the Poor Said the Son of God skeleton AIDS needs cure   Said the Homophobe skeleton Gay folk suck Said the Heritage Policy skeleton Blacks’re outta luck   Said the Macho skeleton Women in their place Said the Fundamentalist skeleton Increase human race   Said the Right-to-Life skeleton Foetus has a soul Said Pro-choice skeleton Shove it up your hole   Said the Downsized skeleton Robots got my job Said the Tough-on-Crime skeleton Tear-gas the mob   Said the Governor skeleton Cut school lunch Said the Mayor skeleton Eat the budget crunch     Said the Neo-Conservative skeleton Homeless off the street! Said the Free Market skeleton Use ’em up for meat   Said the Think Tank skeleton Free Market’s the way Said the S&L skeleton Make the State pay   Said the Chrysler skeleton Pay for you & me Said the Nuke Power skeleton & me & me & me   Said the Ecologic skeleton Keep Skies blue Said the Multinational skeleton What’s it worth to you?   Said the NAFTA skeIeton Get rich, Free Trade, Said the Maquiladora skeleton Sweat shops, low paid   Said the rich GATT skeleton One world, high tech Said the Underclass skeleton Get it in the neck   Said the World Bank skeleton Cut down your trees Said the I.M.F. skeleton Buy American cheese   Said the Underdeveloped skeleton I Send me rice Said Developed Nations’ skeleton Sell your bones for dice   Said the Ayatollah skeleton Die writer die Said Joe Stalin’s skeleton That’s no lie   Said the Petrochemical skeleton Roar Bombers roar! Said the Psychedelic skeleton Smoke a dinosaur     Said Nancy’s skeleton Just say No Said the Rasta skeleton Blow Nancy Blow   Said Demagogue skeleton Don’t smoke Pot Said Alcoholic skeleton Let your liver rot   Said the Junkie skeleton Can’t we get a fix? Said the Big Brother skeleton Jail the dirty pricks   Said the Mirror skeleton Hey good looking Said the Electric Chair skeleton Hey what’s cooking?   Said the Talkshow skeleton Fuck you in the face Said the Family Values skeleton My family values mace   Said the N.Y. Times skeleton That’s not fit to print Said the C.I.A. skeleton Cantcha take a hint?   Said the Network skeleton Believe my lies Said the Advertising skeleton Don’t get wise!   Said the Media skeleton Believe you me Said the Couch-Potato skeleton What me worry?   Said the TV skeleton Eat sound bites Said the Newscast skeleton That’s all Goodnight   2/12-16/95