The best laid plans of mice and men Often go awry And leave us naught but grief and pain For promised joy [verse 1] Once upon a time a ship, "unsinkable," they said But the first Atlantic crossing met With an "Iceberg, right ahead!" But since they never thought the ship could ever sink like lead A lack of working lifeboats led To over fifteen hundred dead [pre chorus] Experts prepare, pros take action We all watch and pray When all is done in the aftermath We just look for someone to blame But [chorus] Sometimes ... Shit happens That's one thing of which you can be sure Temperature drops, the sky blackens Plans might need to take a detour Even dukes ... even barons Had to deal with things that change on the fly Shit ... it just happens And we all wind up wondering why [verse 2] Back in the 1980's In Ukraine a nuclear power plant Ran a safety test that went awry Official statements were aslant Dangerous particles filled the atmosphere A city was deserted Other countries could detect the waste Before they were alerted [pre chorus] Experts prepare, pros take action We all watch and pray When all is done in the aftermath We just look for someone to blame But [chorus] Sometimes ... Shit happens That's one thing of which you can be sure Temperature drops, the sky blackens Plans might need to take a detour Even dukes ... even barons Had to deal with things that change on the fly Shit ... it just happens And we all wind up wondering why [verse 3] Long ago there was a man The Emperor of France With Russia laid before his armies He decided to take a chance The winter was a nightmare And the forces fought were bold When he sounded the retreat Much of his army lay dead in the cold [pre chorus] Experts prepare, pros take action We all watch and pray When all is done in the aftermath We just look for someone to blame But [chorus] Sometimes ... Shit happens That's one thing of which you can be sure Temperature drops, the sky blackens Plans might need to take a detour Even dukes ... even barons Had to deal with things that change on the fly Shit ... it just happens And we all wind up wondering why [outro] As Robert Burns was known to say Way back in 1785 The best laid plans of mice and men Often go awry And leave us naught but grief and pain For promised joy [end]