Pay to Play

If you're seeking to do bus’ness
In most cities, states or counties
When the contracts there are pending
You’ll need help to reap the bounties
From a contribution, cash or kind
That’s part of the transaction
And the more you tender to the cause
The greater is your traction.

Pay to play,
Pay to play,
You wanna play,
You gotta pay.

Be you muni pedd’ling lawyer
Or a builder needing permits
For concessions at an airport
You’ll come up with helfty remits
To get help from local pols
Your competitors to trump
Into coffers they devise
Scads of money you must pump.

Pay to play,
Pay to play,
You wanna play,
You gotta pay.

When the brib’ry word is brandished
And calls come for their contrition
Those who wallow in this play dough
Shout: "t’ain’t crooked, its tradition
Money’s just a form of free speech
Freedom grows with its increase
For a government to work well
It needs buckets of such grease."

Pay to play,
Pay to play,
The rule’s today,
You gotta pay.

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