A bunch of nerdy brainy guys a long way back
Invented a crazy little thing they called the Univac
For years now, they've been upgrading that thing
It can walk and talk and count and think and it can even sing
It can help you at school, church, business, and work
Makes you feel like a genius even though you're just a jerk
You get a computer, you sit it in your lap
It does a little bit of this it does a whole lotta that
It can boot you up, it can load you down
With that little bitty mouse you1re gonna rule this town
But you're headed for trouble I do believe
It's coming your way on New Year's Eve now
Whoa what do you know
A few more measly more months to go
Hey what do you say
Now here it comes now...Y2K

No it ain't a virus it's just a little glitch
It wasn't done by some crazy hackin' son of a bitch
And Sadaam didn't do it, can't blame him
No it's the geek with the glasses and the stupid silly grin
Billionaire Bill that's the one you can hate
If you want to blame someone blame Bill Gates
Bill Gates
Bill Gates

Bill said we'd make money, Bill said we'd have fun
But remember Hal the computer in 2001?
We're in a time machine, going back my friend
Doin' 1900 all over again
Headed for trouble I do believe
It's coming your way on New Year's Eve now
Whoa what do you know
A few more measly more months to go
Hey what do you say
Now here we come now...Y2K

Well we've been trucking down the information superhighway
But we'll be on a dirt road come Y2K
Call me old fashioned call me a fool
And you can call me a Luddite and you can call me uncool
But we used to imagine, question and dream
And now all of our answers come up on some screen
We're headed for trouble I do believe
It's coming your way on New Year's Eve
Y - 2 - K

Breakdown...You better get ready, be very afraid
Because your money's no good and you'll never get paid
And the car won't start and the phone won't work
And the juice won't squeeze and the coffee won't perk
No more decaf latte, baby...

You'll be doing the monkey, but there'll be a new twist
You'll still be alive but you will not exist
The stock market will crash, the air traffic will stop
You won't find a doctor, forget about a cop

There'll be a lot of lawyers with plenty to do
It's apocalypse now at a theatre near you
We're headed for trouble I do believe
It's coming your way on New Year's Eve

Meanwhile...

Way over there in the old ancient Middle East
Them doomsday boys is having a feast
The end is at hand and they're down on their knees
They've been checking out all the bad-ass prophesies
This Y2K it's the latest craze
It's lock and load for the final days

Well I saw you on the plane playing solitaire
On that little laptop, with nary a care
Life's easy now, but it could get hard
Pretty soon you're gonna have to use a deck of real cards
Headed for trouble I do believe
It's coming your way on New Year's Eve now
Whoa what do you know
A few more measly more months to go
Hey what do you say
Comin' at ya...Y2K

PRESS RELEASE:
Y2K CAN'T CRASH LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III:
VENERATED SINGER/SONGWRITER READIES TOPICAL 'SOCIAL STUDIES' ALBUM FOR HANNIBAL RECORDS, SET FOR JULY 13 RELEASE (171 DAYS BEFORE Y2K)

SALEM, Mass. : Loudon Wainwright III's multi-album deal with Hannibal Records commences with 'Social Studies,' a collection of songs based on social and political observations he has written over the past ten years for National Public Radio and ABC's "Nightline." The album, set for a July 13 street date, features the single "Y2K," a funky fireball of a song which celebrates the termination of the world as we know it promptly on January 1, 2000, naming an alleged villian behind the global millenial crisis.

In "Y2K," Wainwright rolls the computer saga back to the invention of the first Univac, following it to the time when computers began powering the world: "We've been trucking down the information superhighway/It will be a dirt road come Y2K."

Among the other newsmakers of the past decade who find themselves under Wainwright's microscope are Jesse Helms, Tonya Harding, Saddam Hussein and O.J. Simpson, all of whom have inspired songs on Social Studies.

As he writes in the 'Social Studies' liner notes, Wainwright first discovered he could write about public figures and other specific individuals when in 1975, appearing in the TV sitcom "M*A*S*H," he wrote a song about Trapper and Hawkeye's Tokyo foray. "Over the years," the notes continue, "I've continued to come up with various musical harangues, broadsides, laments, parodies and political pot shots. Those of you who are familiar with my work know that I will go to almost any length, no matter how long, to get a laugh, no matter how cheap. I see it as part of my job. In 1976, when a ponytailed Rolling Stone rock critic complained that I could have become Jonathan Swift but instead was in danger of turning into Tom Lehrer, I took the hack's criticism as a compliment."

The album, recorded in New York with longtime cohort (and 'The McGarrigle Hour' guest) Chaim Tannenbaum (who also plays banjo and sings), contains appearances from several musicians of note including guitarist John Scofield on "Y2K"; plus The Roches and Jenni Muldaur on backing vocals; David Mansfield (Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash, more) on guitar, violin and mandolin; Greg Cohen (Tom Waits) on bass; and Lenny Pickett on saxophone and clarinet (SNL, Tower Of Power).

Loudon Wainwright III, called "one of the greatest lyricists of the age" by Q magazine, has written and performed songs that document his life and our society for more than three decades. The two-time Grammy nominee, also known for the hit "Dead Skunk," has had his material covered by Big Star ("Motel Blues") and Johnny Cash ("The Man Who Couldn't Cry.") Wainwright is currently filming a singing and acting part in the movie "28 Days," starring Sandra Bullock. He has been sought out by National Public Radio (NPR), ABC's "Nightline" and The New York Times as a social commentator both in music and in print. 'Social Studies,' his 17th album, feat
ures the finest of these songs presented for the first time in one place.