Throw Away That Shad Net (How Are We Gonna Save Tomorrow?)

Throw away that shad net, get rid of hook and line
There's no more Hudson fishing, not for a long, long time
The poison's in the riverbed, no matter whose the crime
But how are we gonna save tomorrow?

One thousand honest workers need that paycheck every week
Way up in Fort Edward where the PCBs did leak
And the GE Corporation knows the profits it must seek
But how are we gonna save tomorrow?

PCB was a clever thing, 'way back in twenty-nine
Transformers and capacitors got turned out on the line
Nobody suspected what they'd do to us in time
And now we got to worry 'bout tomorrow

Well, the purpose of technology is to take a different turn
We'll test each new thing carefully, that's one thing we have learned
We need a clean world for all to share, and all to work and earn
Then, maybe, we can save tomorrow

Well, the experts knew about it, so why not you and me
Who controls the information in this land of the free?
The laws didn't seem to help in stopping PCB
So how are we gonna save tomorrow?

The longest journey taken needs a first step to begin
This cleanup's gonna take a while, but now we must begin
Clearwater says to lend a hand, a claw, a paw, a fin
'Cause now we got to work to save tomorrow

[Spoken:] "This song's too sad."

Here's to the lowly blue crab, because he has no fat
And so he's got no PCB (hardly) we can say, hooray for that
So I'll not quit my crabbing, you can stick that in your hat
Somehow, we're gonna save tomorrow

[Spoken:] "In the old days, coal miners took a canary down to test the air."

Here's to the canary we took down in the mine
Here's to the Hudson stripers, may their warning be in time
Here's to all the young folks singing, "This land is yours and mine."
That's how we're gonna save tomorrow

Oh, the glory's on the river, and the struggle's on the shore
Next year is 1976; let's start a little war
Anyone who thinks we're quitting better take just one think more
And that's how we're gonna save tomorrow

So don't throw away that shad net, don't junk that hook and line
We're gonna make some changes, we're gonna start in time
Clearwater sings to all of us, "This land is yours and mine"
And that's how we're gonna save tomorrow
And that's how we're gonna save tomorrow