Well the world has never been so very small
Though they say there's not enough to feed us all
So you better save a nickel while you can
But it needn't come from someone else's hand
Just take a little extra every day
For honest work deserves an honest pay
You can tell the world you did it by yourself
There's someone you must thank for all his help

You gotta give the butcher his share
You'd like to make believe he isn't there
You'd like to make believe you just receive what's only fair
That no one has to suffer to keep you in your chair
But you gotta give the butcher his share

Let's take a walk around the old bazaar
Where every little thing has traveled far
Every pair of pants and grain of rice
Contains a horror story in its price
A story of the power people wield
A story about factories and fields
Of which you'll never have to be aware
Just as long as the butcher gets his share

You've gotta give the butcher his share
No matter what you buy or what you wear
'Cause no one ever said the distribution would be fair
Blood and guts encoded in the value of the ware
But you gotta give the butcher his share
Well here's another soldier on the train
You hope you won't be seeing him again
And you tell yourself, "My G-d, he looks so young"
You find that you are staring at his gun
And you wonder what this soldier does for fun
You wonder 'bout the things he might have done
Well he was doing them for people just like you
So you better give the butcher his due

You gotta give the butcher his due
'Cause you're lucky that it's him instead of you
Who does the dirty things you hope you'll never have to do
And has to keep his filthy little fingers out of view
But you gotta give the butcher his due

You can build yourself a garden
You can cover it in green
But my dear I beg your pardon
How do you keep your little fingers clean?
You don't have to rally 'round a flag
You may as well salute a dirty rag
And this isn't a defense of evil deeds
It's just a little song about our needs

Our need to feel enlightened and secure
And civilized and rational and pure
To feel we are decent good and nice
Just as long as the butcher gets his price
You gotta give the butcher his price
No matter what you think of human rights
You've gotta give the butcher his lot
For being everything you think you're not
You gotta give the butcher his share
No matter how you say you really care
'Cause he's the one who did the stealing
And then named you as the heir
Whose filthiness provided you the privileges you bear
You gotta give the butcher his share