06x06 - This for That

[bunniefuu]

[man] Hey, what do you say,
I'll give you this for that?

Hmm?

♪ When we lived in caves
There were no shopping malls ♪

♪ And people's manners were Neanderthal ♪

♪ No bodegas, no delis, no corner stores ♪

♪ Shopping trips turned into tugs of w*r ♪

♪ When not having pull
Got this man mangled ♪

♪ He thought he'd try an easier angle ♪

♪ I'll give you this for that
That for this ♪

[squeals]

♪ We'll make a trade called "barter" ♪

♪ I'll give you this for that
That for this ♪

♪ We'll have it made with barter ♪

♪ Now, barter worked well
At least in theory ♪

♪ But a wallet full of yaks
Could make you weary ♪

♪ Making change for a cow
Wasn't easy to master ♪

♪ Unless you were ready
For an "udder" disaster ♪

♪ Shiny shells were far more portable ♪

♪ Why not use them
For what's affordable? ♪

♪ I'll give you this for that
That for this ♪

♪ With shiny shells, why barter? ♪

♪ I'll give you this for that
That for this ♪

♪ Shelling out shells is smarter ♪

♪ For farmers in ancient Mesopotamia ♪

♪ The barley they grew
Was the money mania ♪

♪ When hauling big sacks
Put their backs in traction ♪

♪ They invented coins
To lighten transactions ♪

♪ Now, when a man had a debt to settle ♪

♪ He'd dig out some coins
Made of precious metal ♪

♪ I'll give you this for that
That for this ♪

♪ Silver or gold or copper ♪

♪ I'll give you this for that
That for this ♪

♪ With coins you're a smarter shopper ♪

♪ Then China made money
Even more desirous ♪

♪ Printing it on paper made of
Crushed papyrus ♪

♪ Take one from Column A
And one from Column B ♪

♪ The Chinese paid their checks
In paper currency ♪

♪ When Columbus set out
On that famous charter ♪

♪ He had no paper money
So he had to barter ♪

♪ He took along some beads for currency ♪

♪ So barter played a part
In our discovery ♪

♪ Balboa and Pisarro and Sebastian Cabot ♪

♪ Even Coronado had the trading habit ♪

♪ I'll give you this for that
That for this ♪

♪ They loaded up with gold, then parted ♪

♪ I'll give you this for that
That for this ♪

♪ And soon the whole world was charted ♪

♪ Today we use cash and spend with ardor ♪

♪ But that doesn't mean
We don't still barter ♪

♪ When a football team
Needs an all-pro guard ♪

♪ Or a kid like you
Is into trading cards ♪

♪ Take this for that
That for this ♪

♪ Bills and coins are smarter ♪

♪ But when you pay for that
Remember this ♪

♪ It all started out with barter ♪