Sagebrush Variety Show: Songs

West Nile

Shortly after the poisoning of Lake Pend d'Oreille in northern Idaho, counties in southern Idaho began declaring states of West Nile emergencies to justify spraying pesticides over huge areas. Similarly to the Milfoil incident, this was done with very short notice ant little or no opportunities for public input. Because the events paralleled each other in so many ways, we made a joke about taking all the material we wrote for milfoil and substituting "milfoil" with "West Nile." That's what we did with this song.

It came from a tire in your yard
It bred inside the water you allowed to stand
a parasite on higher forms in search of bloodmeals
it flies around from dusk to dawn in search of protein

And thanks to global warming they overwinter
and now they are to blame for everything from death to taxes
And people in a panic say that it's a vector
for a virus that'll only kill those with one foot in the grave

chorus:
West Nile - It's a very rare, new fact of life
West Nile - It's a source of hysteria
West Nile - you're more likely to die in your sleep
West Nile - They say it's gonna get, get, getcha-getcha-getcha!

bridge:
the city, the county, and the board of noxious weeds
the media, the industry will tell you yuou're at risk
They'll tell you poison will save us
They'll say that you could die
They'll pray the state with pesticides
and let the good bugs die
There's a scam to sell this crap to Idaho
Now that other states won't spray anymore.
chorus:
West Nile - It's a very rare, new fact of life
West Nile - It's a source of hysteria
West Nile - you're more likely to die in your sleep
West Nile - They say it's gonna get, get, getcha-getcha-getcha!

chorus:
West Nile - spraying for it only increases it
West Nile - the pesticides will damage your immunity
West Nile - it's a chemical conspiracy
West Nile - the pesticides gonna get, get, getcha-getcha-getcha!