Just after I was born, my father said to everyone
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That I would be the President one day
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You¡¯re a natural politician, boy, get it in your head
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And you know that it might just turn out that way
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So through all the years of my childhood
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There more important things than to play
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I started caring for my country and my fellow man
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And this is what I would always say
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I¡¯d say, I don¡¯t want to be President
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But I want to help the poor and the helpless people
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I really don¡¯t want to be President
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But if I¡¯m elected I promise to be faithful
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I graduated college with my law degree
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I was a young man on the move, they always say
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I was helping my community, committed to the people
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I was working as a citizen, to build a better day
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They persuaded me to run for Congressman
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They said from Congress you could do much more good
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And you¡¯ve got to have the power if your changing things
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And I was hoping to do everything I could for the people
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I¡¯d say I don¡¯t want to be President
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But I want to help the poor and the helpless people
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I really don¡¯t want to be President
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But if I¡¯m elected I promise to be faithful
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Time is a march where the powerful are drummers
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Big business, big labor, big oil
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And soon I was meeting with the men who ran the country
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The men who owned the sky and the soil
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Oh, I became a Senator, a man to be reckoned with
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Playing golf with millionaires, and speaking on TV
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And when they talked of potential presidential candidates
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Most often talked about, and most prominent was me
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Well, I got the nomination, ran a campaign of conscience
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I stood for peace and brotherhood and for prosperity
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And on the day of the election I went home to my mansion
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When the people had spoken, they¡¯d elected me
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But I don¡¯t want to be President
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I Don't Want To Be President
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Harry Chapin |