In God We Trust, All Others Bring DataPossibly a riff on "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash"
attributed to W. Edwards Deming
The rule of ABCD: Always Be Collecting Data
I can't find a good source for this one, I heard it years ago in
a presentation but not all of the content from the pre-Internet years has found its way into Google's cache. If you have a source, please add a comment.
from Brick by Ben Folds Five
As weeks went by
It showed that she was not fine
They told me son its time to tell the truth and she broke down and
I broke down
Cause I was tired of lying
All this time I thought it was about a couple in their twenties, with the girl dying of some early onset cancer, with "They" being her doctors. But according to Frank Maynard's original Ben Folds Five Website
On the record, Ben wasn't much help [...] Since the song became so popular, it's been clarified that the song is indeed about a guy taking his girlfriend to the clinic for an abortion, and how he handles the situation. [...] he has stated (on the syndicated radio show "Loveline") that it was based on his experiences in the 12th grade, and that he had spoken with his girlfriend at the time and she said she didn't mind if Ben talked about it. In the article by David Daley in the February 1998 CMJ New Music Monthly, Ben says "It's the story of my senior year of high school, basically. More so, it's about the fact that it happens and there are emotional byproducts."
And, in closing...
'A,' 'B,' 'C.' 'A,' always, 'B,' be, 'C,' closing. Always be closing.
from Blake's speech in Glengarry Glen Ross (screenplay by David Mamet)
{note: I don't listen to, or care about, Ben Folds Five}
About some grungy high school kid takin' his knocked up girlfriend for an abortion? I thought it was about Finger Waggin' Billy finally comin' clean on his lack of a meaningful anti-terrorism strategy.
It's a very melancholy song. I guess I was surprised to learn it was about abortion, I thought it was about the girl contracting a terminal illness. The singer and the girl are certainly filled with regret over what's happened. It doesn't portray abortion as something that you get over easily, but an act with long term and powerful consequences. I would think you might consider it a useful teaching aid for reaching out to teenagers considering abortion. I say this because your blog tagline is "sinner saved by grace" (which certainly applies to all of us).