Johnny and Ginny

From the Lifesmith Group album, "Drivel."

Johnny slaved his days away at the corporate five and dime
Overworked his right hand and spent too much time online
Scribing trivial facts, estimating tax, the gloom crept into his dawn
His days became bleak, week upon week, those halcyon days almost gone.

Johnny coveted his pay the way other company lackeys did
Spent more than he could afford, the ladies his finances hid
He wheedled and moaned, borrowed and loaned, got used by a system gone mad
His loneliness grew, nothing seemed new, he’s resigned to a life simply bad.

But is he part of the problem, or does he really have someone to blame?
Did he show a lack of ambition, does he deserve a better lot in the game?
Was he fiddling away his summers, while ants gathered all of their stock?
For his middle years are a lonely struggle, watched harder workers rock.

Ginny serves up the cretins at the downtown automat
Stains her ratty apron while wiping away gristle and fat
She slings the hash, deals in trash, and laments days gone by
Her prom dress soiled, a smile hard-boiled, sighs at the cleaning rag night.

Ginny raises her boys to stay out of trouble and learn from her mistakes
A husband who left her for reasons untrue, a love life she often fakes
She drags home at night, too tired to fight, with the babysitting TV
Slumped on her couch, cheap beer in her pouch, dreamless catnap reverie.

So what can we say about a less-than life, was there more that could have been done? Could she have seen the wisdom of her parents’ days in substitute of young fun?
Pitifully hopeless in squalor and debt, planning for the long term makes sense
Faithlessly chasing me late-game dollars, despairing leaves only cents.

But wait! In the light of stranger-than-truth,
Like puzzle pieces we’ve Boaz meets Ruth
Unlikely dream for both came alive
When Johnny went down to her greasy dive.

A smile from one brightened the hopes of the other
Necessity is essentially invention’s mother
They found each other and raised up their lots
Miracles achieved in divine guided plots.

And so this time, the Fates were generous sure
With a couple of souls with motivation’s impure
Will you be so lucky in your errancy’s beginning
Or will you sink even deeper than Johnny and Ginny?