It's Only Just Begun

He was a friend and confidant, though granted he was flawed.
It seems like only yesterday; I guess that I was bored.
I still think of him fondly, and that foolish violin.
I had to tell him, «Nero, put it underneath your chin!»
He played, and as the fire raged in 64AD
I took him to one side and there, beneath an olive tree,
I told him through the smoky haze that camouflaged the sun,
«My work here isn’t over yet — it’s only just begun!»
«Speed is of the essence here, no need to wait for me,»
I said to Genghis Khan once in the thirteenth century.
«No point in being merciful — it’s only wasting time.
Regard it as — how shall we say? — a small but perfect crime.»
I must admit, what happened next was truly a disgrace —
No question with the mighty Khan of ever losing face!
And yet I told him candidly, «…despite all that you’ve done,
My work here isn’t over yet — it’s only just begun!»
It’s hard to put it into words. It made me feel alive,
That winter night in Dresden back in 1945.
And what it was that really did appeal, at least to me;
This time there was absolutely no necessity.
Over twenty thousand dead, and nothing had been gained,
Yet once more I was getting bored. The firestorm entertained,
But as I later told the world, «That's just my trial run!
My work here isn’t over yet — it’s only just begun!»
I’d got back from the Falkland Islands several months before;
Went backpacking round India in the fall of '84.
Some things can be challenging; like unexpected leaks.
Bhopal seemed a likely place to try some new techniques.
It only took a helpful friend to make things come to pass;
Union Carbide coming up with all that poison gas!
I even left my calling card that said, «You think I’m done?
My work here isn’t over yet — it’s only just begun!»
And so the story of my life unveils its twists and turns.
I interest myself in many different concerns
From murder, war and larceny to those evading tax,
And where I can I try to keep disruption to the max.
I’m grateful to the many who have helped along the way
In running up the debt that no one ever will repay.
As I said on September 12th in two thousand and one,
«My work here isn’t over yet — it’s only just begun!»