Because I've lived so many years
My knowledge is extensive
I lived back when long distance calls
Were really quite expensive
When I called home from college
Two quick rings were the sign
Dad called me back to put the charge
On his bill not on mine
Now one year my good roommate
Old Ralph from East Nebraska
He had a friend he liked to call
Who lived in Nome, Alaska
They’d chat for just a minute
(I think his name was Benny)
And when that bill came every month
It cost a pretty penny
Then one week when he made the call
Poor benny's mood was sour
That call to cheer old Benny up
Took more than half an hour
When he thought what that bill would be
Old Ralph got really sick
He knew he had to make a plan
And make one really quick
Hey Benny, don't hang up your phone
And I won't hang up mine
Leave it off the hook all night
It's gonna workout fine
Weeks later when the bill arrived
Ralph called AT&T
“An 18-hour called to Nome?!
Come on. That couldn’t be”
Ma Bell admitted her mistake
“Don't worry, please forget it.”
And when the next bill came of course
They issued him a credit
That was the most ambitious scheme
I ever saw conceived
Do something so outrageous
That it just can’t be believed
Reflect on this a moment
Use some meditation
And see it as a mirror of
Our current situation
