Paved

I actually like this song a lot. Being from a rural area (N.B.: Suburban is not rural, it's soulless; farmfields and forests are rural), it accurately describes the pang that hits me every time some new God-awful big-box retailer or strip mall replaces a ruined barn or creek-laden meadow along the interstate. (This is, by the way, simply one more reason to boycott that commercial anti-Christ that is Walmart.)

Indeed, the only thing I hate more suburban sprawl is... suburban sparwl churches.

They Paved St. James

They paved St. James and put up a parkin' lot
For new worship space, with AC and a fellowship spot.
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved St. James and put up a parking lot

They took all the saints, they're in the sacristy museum
And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them.
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved St. James, and put up a parking lot

Hey Father, Father, fire that consultant of Liturgy
I don't care about face-to-face, yeah,
LEAVE me that old reredos please
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved St. James and put up a parking lot
Hey now, they paved St. James, to put up a parking lot
Why not?

Listen, Monday noon, heard a great loud slam
And a big ol' bulldozer took our steeple away
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved St. James, and put up a parking lot
Well, don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved St. James to put up a parking lot
Well now, they paved St. James
And put up a parking lot

I don't wanna give it
Why you wanna give it
Why you wanna givin it all away
Hey, hey, hey
Now you wanna give it
I should wanna give it
Now you wanna givin it all away

Hey, paved St. James, put up a parking lot
Paved St. James, and put up a parking lot