[Verse 1]
Anyone caught speaking Esperanto
Is thought crazy or headed for jail
There's peace in the wilds of West Texas
Where the sun and the sky prevail
Take no notice of the rising waters
Take no notice where rivers run dry
They'll be digging through the landfills
To find evidence of our great demise

[Chorus]
There's a changing pattern before us
And the past tells the story quite well
By the time we make it to Barstow
We'll be more than halfway to hell

[Verse 2]
Waves of adverts that promise revival
Trinket-ware that batters the brain
The devil bought the key to Branson
Drives a backhoe and wears a gold chain
Now we're living in the unnamed time frame
Bets in Reno are on the human race
Woke up in another test market
With a new headache filter in place
[Chorus]
There's a changing pattern before us
And the past tells the story quite well
By the time we make it to Barstow
We'll be more than halfway to hell

[Outro]
(Ooh, ooh, mmm)
By the time we make it to Barstow
We'll be more than halfway to hell