■Lovely Kind of Mess

[Verse 1] At the county fair, the senator smiled Beside a giant foam cheese, two stories high A feed store radio forecast rain The price of eggs came up again At the diner, June said, “I’m doing fine,” Then split one pie with the whole lunch line The jukebox played an old campaign song We all sang the wrong words, loud and strong [Pre-Chorus] The screens keep counting every little thing We count the change and let the coffee ring [Chorus] Well, isn’t it a lovely kind of mess? A paper crown, a borrowed Sunday dress We pass the rolls, we pass the blame We laugh, we vote, we spell our names From county roads to Capitol Hill The day keeps rolling, stubborn still [Verse 2] A school board meeting ran past nine Someone brought a pie and a folding sign The town hall mic gave out a squeal Then Mr. Lopez fixed the deal A neighbor’s porch had three new flags A dog wore goggles, guarding bags The headlines shouted, “Pick a side!” We waved hello from either side [Pre-Chorus] The screens keep counting every little thing We count the change and let the coffee ring [Chorus] Well, isn’t it a lovely kind of mess? A paper crown, a borrowed Sunday dress We pass the rolls, we pass the blame We laugh, we vote, we spell our names From county roads to Capitol Hill The day keeps rolling, stubborn still [Bridge] The rent went up; the bus ran late The courthouse clock was five minutes off Still, someone held the door for me And left a peach beside the coffee [Final Chorus] Well, isn’t it a lovely kind of mess? A paper crown, a borrowed Sunday dress We pass the rolls, we pass the blame We laugh, we vote, we spell our names From county roads to Capitol Hill The day keeps rolling, stubborn still [Outro] Stubborn still, and making room For one more chair beside the broom