Balaam was a prophet about the time
That Moses was coming through
And every now and again God'd speak to him
And tell him what to say and do
He had a reputation in all those parts
For bein' on the line of power
And when Moab's king heard Moses was comin'
He called him in his needy hour

He said, "Balaam come and curse these Israelites
If you do, I believe I could beat 'em in a fight"
But when Balaam asked the Lord
The Lord said, "Balaam don't you go
Israel is blessed by Me
Don't you go mess up My show"
But Balaam's head was turned
By the money he could earn
So he saddled up his donkey anyway

Balaam and his servants hurried off
For the King of Moab's castle
But they hadn't gone very far down the road
When the whole trip became a hassle
Because the donkey ran off across a field
Then she nearly broke Balaam's ankle
But when she lay right down and wouldn't get up
Balaam got a little more than rankled
For the third time Balaam beat her with his cane
But that donkey just refused to move again
It was the thing that happened next though
That made Balaam's knees get weak
Well, that donkey still would not get up
But she began to speak
She said, "Balaam you're to blame
The way you beat me is a shame
'Cause all I've done is tried to save your life"

Then the Angel of the Lord appeared
With a flamin' sword in his hand
Balaam fell down on his face
A very frightened man
The Angel said, "Balaam, you'd be dead
If your donkey hadn't detected
That I was waitin' there to part your hair
When you and my sword connected"

Balaam then repented for his sin
And he promised not to act like that again
And I hope he learned his lesson
About God's reward for greed
But you know it's that talkin' donkey
That's really strange indeed
Now that donkey's just a donkey
But she's still the thing God used
And that's the point I want you all to see
The Lord's the one who makes the choice
Of the instrument He's usin'
We don't know the reasons
And the plans behind His choosin'
So when the Lord starts usin' you
Don't you pay it any mind
He could have used the dog next door
If He'd been so inclined