"I'd Like A Change of Species, Please"

You sidle up beside me and you say, look over there,
(At) those Other Creatures quietly tending to their own affairs -
Don't they all seem so suspicious,
And their flesh looks so delicious;
Is it so wrong for us to claim what they believe is theirs?
(And isn't it their fault for being Different in your space!?
How dare they shove their Other-Creature values in your face!)

You think we've got a bond over the color of our hide
But you don't know a thing about the animal inside
Our Heritage, you say, is great,
And look at Their benighted state -
But where'd you get the notion that I line up on your side!?
(My clever camouflage: by chance, I look a bit like you
Should I point out to those about that you're a mongrel, too...?)

(Chorus:)

I'd like a change of species, please; I'll soar the sky or swim the seas,
Or browse contentedly upon the grasses of the plain!
Just take me from this Godforsaken human civ'lization,
And render me an animal that listens to its brain!

You talk like we're the predators and other folks the prey
And then you act all wounded when they start to edge away
You howl that you're a wolf and proud,
So why are all the sheep allowed
To persecute your kind for their opinions this way?
And all the real Wolves look on and circle up the pack,
(For) they know that you're the type who's like to stab them in the back...

(chorus)

You say that we're the heirs-elect to rule all the land,
But all you claim you've built is on a foundation of sand
You cache your finds in crumbling banks,
And holler when the value tanks,
And all you've proved is that the dumbest animal is Man!
And though you hope to crown yourself the King of Carrion,
You'll find that Vulture Capital's already been and gone...

(chorus)

Oh, Nature is a savage one, she's red in tooth and claw,
(But) she's not the type to claim that all her prejudice is Law
When the fox leaps for the rabbit
If he fails at last to grab it
She won't pat him on the back and stuff the bunny in his maw!
And when the mountain lion sinks his teeth into the deer,
He has no plans to ask if it will vote for him next year...

(chorus)

I'd like a change of species, please! I didn't ask for jerks like these
To be my nearest neighbors in God's taxonomic plan!
You self-destructive monkey-men, just let me put my notice in,
And drop the curtain on this fest'ring empire of Man!

(And when the dust has settled and Man's works have passed away,
Will any other creature be as foolish in its day...?)