Talking Wheelchair Blues

Lyrics

[Verse 1] I went for a jog in the city air I met a woman in a wheelchair I said "I'm sorry to see you're handicapped" She says "What makes you think a thing like that?" And she looks at me real steady And she says "You wanna drag?" [Verse 2] So she starts to roll and I start to run And she beat the pants off my aching buns You know going uphill I'd hit my stride But coming down she'd sail on by When I finally caught up with her She says "Not bad for somebody able-bodied You know, with adequate care and supervision You could be taught simple tasks So how about something to eat?" [Verse 3] I said that'd suit me fine "We're near a favorite place of mine" So we mosied on over there But the only way in was up a flight of stairs "Gee, I never noticed that" says I "No problem" the maitre d' replies "There's a service elevator around the back" [Verse 4] So we made it upstairs on the elevator With the garbage, flies, and last week's potatoes I said "I'd like a table for my friend and me" He says "I'll try to find one out of the way" [Verse 5] Then he whispers, "Uh, is she gonna be sick I mean, pee on the floor or throw some kind of fit?" I said "No, I don't think so I think she once had polio But that was twenty years ago You see, the fact of the matter is If the truth be told She can't walk" [Verse 6] So he points to a table, she wheels her chair Some people look down and others stare And a mother grabs her little girl Says "Keep away, honey, that woman's ill" We felt right welcome [Verse 7] Then a fella walks up and starts to babble About the devil and the holy bible Says "Woman, though marked with flesh's sin Pray to Jesus, you'll walk again!" [Verse 8] Then the waiter says "What can I get for you?" I said "I'll have your best imported brew" And he says "What about her?" I said "Who?" He says "Her" "Oh, you mean my friend here" He says "Yeah" I say "What about her?" "Well, what does she want?" "Well, why don't you ask her?" Then he apologizes Says he never waited on a cripple before [Verse 9] So she talks to the manager when we were through She says "There're some things you could do To make it easier for folks in wheelchairs" He says "Oh, it's not necessary Handicapped never come here anyway" [Verse 10] Well, I said goodnight to my newfound friend I said "I'm beginning to understand A little bit of how it feels To roll through life on a set of wheels" [Verse 11] She says "Don't feel sorry, don't feel sad I take the good along with the bad I was arrested once at a protest demo And the police had to let me go See, we were protesting the fact That public buildings weren't wheelchair accessible Turned out the jail was the same way [Verse 12] Anyway, I look at it this way— In fifty years you'll be in worse shape than I am now See, we're all the same, this human race Some of us are called disabled, and the rest— Well, the rest of you are just temporarily able-bodied"