Mr. Mercury   A cast iron steam machine   Made the morning tea   For the Admiral Gabardine      Went out on an errand   But came back too late   The runabout was idling   Behind the gate      Mr. Mercury   His dials and his springs   Set out for Mr. Quick   By following the oil slick      “Mr. Mercury,   Why did they all leave?   Could it be, I wonder,   A strange disease?      Because everybody’s gone,   The house is empty and the   Silence is killing me.”      The moon was overhead   The city streets were dead   They heard a soft alarm   That was set by Mr. Arm      “Mr. Mercury   Why did they all leave?   Could they be, I wonder,   All overseas?      Because everybody’s gone,   The town is empty and the   Silence is killing me.”      “Follow me and I will take you   (I believe we are through)   To the Admiral, he will tell us   (If no one tells... )   What to do and where to go   (... Us what to do)      Because that’s what automata do.”      You can thank Smythe and Tinker   For your curious demeanor   He is a patented marvel   Patented marvel      They no longer linger   Because he knows he’ll be alright      Are you getting existential   In your clockwork differential?   He’s a patented marvel   Mechanical      “Our serial numbers   Are etched in ours thumbs.   Send someone who could use   A good Automaton!”      We are   We are   We are   We are   Alone      “Mr. Mercury,   There’s not much use for us three.   I’ll turn your On Switch off   If you’ll do the same for me      Because everybody’s gone,   The world is empty, and the   Silence is killing me.”