The Salesman - The Happy Family

A salesman’s life is a tale of woe

He’s despised in every place

The rain seeps through his overcoat

And the door’s slammed in his face

A salesman needs the faith of saints

His position’s much the same

He’s crucified by overheads

With no underdogs to blame

Here I have detergent

These boxes are my life

I flog them round from town to town

To feed my son and wife

Buy this fine detergent

How much do you require

It cleans away impurities

And stills the fleshly fires

I kiss my wife in the morning light

As I lift the beetle boot

Stack my boxes row on row

Then I hit the Danube route

Augsburg’s full of scallywags

Trying on the ancient line

Saying a salesman called just yesterday

And his face looked just like mine

Here I have detergent

These boxes are my life

I flog them round from town to town

To feed my son and wife

Buy this fine detergent

It s everything you need

It’s friendship for the lonely ones

For the godless it’s a creed

A handsome young evangelist

Had sacred words to speak

He thought God’s will appealed to me

I was studying his technique

He warned me of the enemy

With a twinkle in his eye

Then I see to my eternal shame

My rival in disguise

Here I have detergent

These boxes are my life

I flog them round from town to town

To feed my son and wife

Buy this fine detergent

Biologically prepared

To cleanse the crime from criminals

The answer to our prayers

A self-made man’s a can of worms

His soul’s a blood-stained sheet

But he struggles to redeem himself

As he sells from street to street

Members of the jury

I’ve just one thing left to add

The low is by its nature good

But a salesman must be bad

Here I hove detergent

These boxes are my life

I flog them round from town to town

To feed my son and wife

Buy this fine detergent

Salvation comes to those

Who cleanse their souls as white as white

In the washtub with their clothes

Here I have detergent

It’ll be the death of me

Then I’ll flog these boxes

Round the length and breadth of eternity

Me and my detergent

We’re insured for all we’re worth

And while we’re cleaned out in purgatory

They’ll be filthy rich on earth