Every day you see tourists in Washington
"Hey there dad lets go look at some monuments."
Take some fine photographs when you're on the mall
Because everything is pretty when you're in this Babylon

Visit old pastimes kept alive in the Smithsonian
Indulge the layer of gold in the District of Columbia
But the White House is upheld by columns; the Capitol by bricks
And it was commoners – not politicians – who partook in building them

Let me tell you of the true Capital preserved
Founded on the relentless pain of slave labor
For when downtown starts to rot the government has great advice
Bulldoze all the nearest slums to make the streets look alright

All patriotic citizens, all the international lot
Come to DC because it's the Western world's heart
But all these silly people can only see this land's grandeur
And the homelessness and the oppression isn't what they came here for
Only then is it that you get the sense of American democracy
Force the people to live in squalor to sugar-coat the scene