When I sang “Half a Loaf” for Nancy Schimmel, singer and storyteller, she told me her mom, Malvina Reynolds had a saying “enough is a feast.” I tried to write a Malvina-like song.

I sat at the table, I ate my meal
I asked my stomach, “How do you feel?”
It said, “I’m sure full” I said “Are you sure?”
He said, “You’ll get fat if you eat anymore”

CHORUS
Enough is a feast, enough is a feast
Take what you need, save some for the least
Save some for the least who stand at the door
Enough is a feast, you don’t need any more

I swear that it’s wrong, I think it ain’t right
That a billion folks go to bed hungry each night
Some scrounge at the bottom
Some lounge at the top
I think it’s crazy, and I wish it would stop

Some folks drive ‘round in big Cadillacs
Others walk ‘round with just the shirt on their back
Some live in mansions, some live in huts
When aliens visit they must think we’re all nuts

CHORUS

The president says the economy’s slack
So they’ve got to give rich people their money back
But I smell a rat, I know a scam
What kind of a dummy does he think I am?

CHORUS

If I were the president or I were a king
I’d make a big pile out of all these damn things
All we’d have left is ourselves and our names
We’d all shake hands and start over again

I might be a liberal, I been called that before
Or maybe a pinko, I’m not really sure
I don’t really know, I don’t really care
I just happen to think that we ought to share

Some people work, some people don’t
Some people share, some people won’t
Some folks have nothing, some have it all
But we’re all stuck together on this little blue ball

CHORUS (2 times)

© Bill Harley, all rights reserved. Reprints with permission only.