Dinosaur 13 - Dr Jane Robinson - Who Owns the Bones

WHO OWNS THE BONES?
Copyright 1995 Jane A. Robinson (published in Dr. Jane's Remains)
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Who owns the bones that have lain so long,
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Rocked in a deep, slow cradle of stone?
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Who owns the bones that tell the tale
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Of a fearsome beast and a line that failed?
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Who owns the bones? Who owns the bones?
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Who owns the bones? Who owns the bones?
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The government stole it from the red men,
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Then lent it back for them to live on;
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Indians and fossils are always found on hostile land.
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The red men leased it to some white men,
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Who built their ranches and their fences,
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And invited private fossil hunters in to try their hand.
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Black Hills Institute unearthed a fossil of great worth,
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A fine T. rex they excavated at a huge expense.
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Since Sue Hendrickson had found the fossil buried in the ground,
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They named it "Sue", and that's what ev'rybody's called it since.
But CHORUS
The fossil crew began their digging
In the sandstone bed where Sue had slumbered,
Knowing that the Japanese had sev'ral million to pay.
But the Sioux belatedly discovered
Their land had once again been plundered,
And the Sioux lay claim to Sue; they wanted her to put on display.
Black Hills Institute declared that the T. rex they'd prepared
Was theirs because they'd found it, bound it, and preserved it intact.
"We did all the work," they said, "removed the fossil from its bed."
But the Sioux eschewed the claim, for they'd caught the poachers in the act.
CHORUS
The government took a sudden int'rest
At the fossil's "scientific" value,
Sent in the National Guard to take the precious pieces away,
Accused the company of grand theft,
Took all the pieces, packed them, and left.
Yeah, the Feds shooed the crew, screwed the Sioux, and sued for Sue on that day.
Black Hills Institute objected that the fossil they'd detected
Was theirs because they'd seen it, freed it, and then paid the price.
But the government was clear: "When you find a thing of value here,
It's our land, please understand; and we don't even have to be nice."
CHORUS
Now the Feds are punishing the pirates
Who pillaged fossils for a profit
And succeeded at a task that only academics should try.
And poor T. rex languishes, decaying,
In the hot, damp vault where she is laying.
She crumbles into dust as justice plods, and years go by.
Black Hills Institute has seen all those bones they saved and cleaned
Taken and mistakenly placed into a crate to rot.
When it all come down to greed, neither indigence or need
Can hope to hold their own when up against a government plot....
No, you will never win if you're diggin' up a government plot!
CHORUS
Who owns the bones?

[@ianharac5153]

Lost my CD of this in ages past... first time hearing this in a quarter-century!

[@ladybuglisawahl]

I too have been finding digital version of filk tapes I used to have, but some I haven't heard in 40 years are well remembered. This one inspired me to keep track of Sue news over the years.