One of the local lasses, who looks to be all of about seven but is presumably a little older than that, has her own radio show on the local community radio station. And it’s pretty good, and quite impressive that she’s stuck with it, given the quality of education in this literacy-forsaken town. When I take the BatPup to her swimming lessons on Friday, the Boy Wonder likes to tune in and listen… usually to Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler, which I swear she plays every single week at exactly the right time for me to catch it as we’re driving.

On a cool weekday evening, in a car wending homeward,
I tuned in to the radio, to soothe my achin’ mind.
I wandered through the stations, full of ads and loud opinions,
‘Til something made me pause there, and let my soul unwind.

It was something kind of country, or maybe German speedcore,
Some gangsta rap, a show tune, or punk, or R&B,
It doesn’t really matter, it was something I was there for,
The radio played music, and played it just for me.

So I listened for a moment, and the voice came, back-announcing.
He wasn’t Mr Silver Tongue, wasn’t much for style.
But the night outside was quiet, and his voice filled all my hearing,
As he meandered through his paces, I began to smile.

You get the folk songs and fast cars, pagans and pop stars,
Blues in the early hours, books after tea
You never guess what’s coming, but you listen when you’re able
There’s a world upon the radio, tune it in and see.

Now every market guru knows the trick for advertisers
Is to tell the people what they need, to keep ’em satisfied.
So the air’s saturated with top ten pop and prizes,
And the best that you can hope for is an end to your ride.

So when I’d finished drivin’, I turned off the radio,
Thought about the tunes I’d heard, the people I’d just met.
And out there in the darkness, the voice he kept on speaking,
There’s always someone listenin’, that’s the way to bet.

You get the folk songs and fast cars, pagans and pop stars,
Blues in the early hours, books after tea.
You never guess what’s coming, but you listen when you’re able
There’s a world upon the radio, tune it in and see.

You get the gardeners and gee-tars, god squad and guest stars,
Births, deaths and marriages, gay repartee.
You never guess what’s coming, but you listen when you’re able
There’s a world upon the radio, tune it in and see.
There’s a world upon the radio, tune it in and see.