JOE McCARTHY'S COMING TO TOWN

(JOE GLAZER) (c. 1951)
Tune: "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"

Joe Glazer
Joe Glazer

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Lyrics kindly provided by Bill Friedland.

HUAC HEARING (REAL MEDIA, 274 KB)

You'd better beware, you'd better be good,
You'd better do only the things that you should.
Joe McCarthy's coming to town.

He'll call you a pink, he'll call you a red,
He'll drive every liberal thought from your head.
Joe McCarthy's coming to town.

He knows when you're subversive, he knows each move you make;
His gumshow boys are watching, so be good for McCarthy's sake.

So you'd better play safe, don't talk and don't read,
Don't write and don't join if you want to succeed.
Joe McCarthy's coming to town.

If you've got a book whose cover is red,
When you start to read look under the bed,
Cause Joe McCarthy's coming to town.

If you go to church to pray or to wed,
You'd better make sure that the preacher's not red,
Cause Joe McCarthy's coming to town.

Now if you are a teacher and you want to get ahead,
Don't mention Thomas Jefferson, talk about Joe McCarthy instead.

So, you'd better play safe, don't talk and don't read,
Don't write and don't join, if you want to succeed,
Joe McCarthy's coming to town.

Be careful who your friends are, be careful what you say.
Don't be too controversial, or McCarthy will get you some day.

So, get rid of your brains and you'll never go wrong,
You'll always be safely sailing along,
When Joe McCarthy's coming to town.

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