A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor

It Is What It Is
Saturday, April 4, 2009

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It is what it is and it’s not what it’s not
I am who I am and that’s what I was taught
And it’s good enough hey thanks a lot
And this is the only band I have got

This show takes as long as it takes
We are who we are and those are the breaks
It isn’t the greatest in the show biz
It is what it is

We’re not from here, we’re from back there
Been here once or twice and it’s very nice
And if you think I’m from here I don’t care
But I’m not I’m from back there

This is a piano, it’s not a guitar
He can’t bend the notes, at least not that far
He can’t slide a bottleneck over the strings
He has to do piano things

This is a bass, it isn’t a tree
It isn’t the Boston Symphony
It isn’t Mount Rushmore or Lincoln’s face
It’s a bass, it has its place.

Six strings is what a guitar has got
You may think there’s more but there are not
Maybe some have twelve and some have four
This one has six, no less, no more.

What you see is what you get
I’m almost done but not quite yet
I’m not the best, not No. 1
I’m from the Midwest and it’s been fun
That’s the end of the song. I’m done