God made the mountains God made the sky God made the people God knows why
He fixed up the planet As best as He could Then in come the people And gum it up good
The first thing you know
They civilized the foothills And everywhere He put hills The mountains and valleys below They come along and take 'em And civilize and make 'em A place where no civilized Person would go
The first thing you know The first thing you know
They civilize what's pretty By puttin' up a city Where nothin' that's Pretty can grow
They muddy up the winter And civilize it inter A place too uncivilized Even for snow
The first thing you know
They civilize left They civilize right Till nothing is left Till nothing is right
They civilize freedom Till no one is free No one except By coincidence, me
The first thing you know
The boozer's in prison And the criminal, he isn't And only the rascals have dough
When I see a parson I gotta put my arse in The wagon that follows the tail of the crow The first thing you know I pick up and blow The first thing you know