Everybody wants to rule the world,1everybody wants to be cool,but not me,I don't care about any of it,
I just want sweet tea and lemonade,milk and honey2,let me rest and let me read,let the whole world wag,
I just want to be left alone3
Sweet Tea and Lemonade
Notes
By the editor.
- This is the title of Tears for Fears' 1985 song, from the album Songs from the Big Chair (written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley and Chris Hughes). The poem takes the idea of the song's title and answers it with the person who does not want to play the game. source ↩
- “A land flowing with milk and honey” is how God describes the promised land to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:8, KJV), a place that is good, large and rich. The poem asks for the promised land in a kitchen. source ↩
- Epicurus advised against a life of politics and founded the Garden in Athens, where friends shared a simple life, meals and talk outside the political limelight. The poem is Epicurean in spirit: rest, books and friends are the good life, not a failure to climb. source ↩