W*O*L*D

Written by Harry Chapin Performed by Harry Chapin

Hello Honey, it's me What did you think when you heard me back on the radio? What did the kids say when they knew it was their long lost daddy-o? Remember how we listened to the radio And I said `That's the place to be' And how I got the job as an FM Jock the day you married me? It was two kids and I was was into AM rock But I just had to run around It's been eight years since I left you babe Let me tell you 'bout what's gone down CHORUS I am the morning DJ on W*O*L*D Playing all the hits for you wherever you may be The bright good-morning voice who's heard but never seen Feeling all of forty-five going on fifteen The drinking I did on my last big gig made my voice go low They said that they liked the young sound when they let me go So I drifted on down to Tulsa, Oklahoma to do me a late night talk show Now I worked my way down home again, via Boise, Idhao That's how this business goes CHORUS I've been making extra money doing high school sock hops I'm a big time guest MC You should hear me talking to the little children And listen what they say to me Got a spot on the top of my head, just begging for a new toupee And a tire on my gut from sitting on my But it's never gonna go away Sometimes I get this crazy dream That I just take off in my car But you can travel on ten thousand miles and still stay where you are I've been thinking that I should stop this jocking And start that record store Maybe I could settle down if you'ld take me back once more OK Honey, I see I guess he's better than me Sure, old girl, I understand You don't have to worry, I'm such a happy man W*O*L*D, W*O*L*D, W*O*L, W*O*L, W*O*L*D*D*D I am the morning DJ on K*A*H*J Playing all the hits for you playing them night and day The bright good morning voice who's heard but never seen Feeling all of forty-five, going on fifteen I am the morning DJ on W*O*L*D. . .

This, and Cat's in the Cradle, were really the only Harry Chapin  songs that made much splash on AM radio.  As another songwriter of the era would write "If you want to have a hit, you gotta make it quick, so they cut it down to 3:05" (The Entertainer, Billy Joel). Like many Chapin songs, there is an interesting story on the surface of this song, but you don't have to look far to find the nugget that makes the story universal.  "You can travel on 10,000 miles, and still stay where you are."  You can't run away from life's problems, because they come with you, and until you can figure out what caused them in the first place, you'll just keep repeating the behavior that caused the problems.

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