If We Didn’t Have to Eat

Life would be an easy matter 

If we never had to eat.

If we never had to utter,

“Won’t you pass the bread and butter,

Likewise push along the platter

Full of meat?”

Yes, if food were obsolete

Life would be a jolly treat,

If we didn’t—shine or shower,

Old or young, ‘bout every hour—

Have to eat, eat, eat, eat, eat—

‘Twould be jolly if we didn’t have to eat.

We could save a lot of money

If we didn’t have to eat.

Could we cease our busy buying,

Baking, broiling, brewing, frying,

Life would then be oh, so sunny

And compete;

And we shouldn’t fear to greet

Every grocer in the street

If we didn’t—man and woman,

Every hungry, helpless human—

Have to eat, eat, eat, eat, eat—

We’d save money if we didn’t have to eat.

All our worry would be over

If we didn’t have to eat.

Would the butcher, baker, grocer

Get our hard-earned dollars?  No, sir!

We would then be right in clover

Cool and sweet.

Want and hunger we could cheat,

And we’d get there with both feet,

If we didn’t—poor and wealthy,

Halt or nimble, sick or healthy—

Have to eat, eat, eat, eat, eat,

We could get there if we didn’t have to eat.

Nixon Waterman[1]

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[1] See footnote 1 in earlier post "What Have We Done Today?" for a biographical sketch of Nixon Waterman