Telephone rang; have you heard the news Carrion crows coming home to roost Over at the plant you know something went wrong Take the children and run They say they'll fix it if we only stay calm Go back to your factories, go back to your farms Don't you get angry, don't lose your cool And the bosses will share their power with you Take the children and run Take the children and run Take the children and run Doctor Atomic lying through his teeth Says we've nothing to fear except fear itself He visits the plant in a lead-lined suit And comes out looking like courage on the evening news Take the children and run Take the children and run Take the children and run You're on a commission and you're sixty years old You make a deal with the devil and profits unfold But twenty years down the line and that little girl Is in the prime of her life and her blood cells grow wild Take the children and run Take the children and run Take the children and run I saw the reactor through an April haze It looked like a blunderbuss aimed at the skys It's your friendly atom raging out of control And the scientists are praying for Lady Luck's smile Take the children and run Take the children and run Take the children and run