'Twas Millennium Eve and all through the house, The children were stirring. As for me and my spouse - Our champagne glasses were filled to the brim, To welcome the brand new Millennium in.
Our children were scattered all over the rooms, Hoping the Millennium would not spell doom - That their VCRs and their games console chips, Would not come to a halt with a Y2K glitch.
I in my Tuxedo and ma in her ballgown, Watched our computer as its chip counted down, The light from the chandelier sparkled and dazzled, As we watched the display, our nerves strained and frazzled.
The light from the computer's flickering screen, Turned our avid faces a pale, sickly green, At the back of our minds we harboured our worries, That the country's computers might die on the morrow.
For what would we do if our bank accounts froze, If the grocers and shopping malls had to stay closed? Would *their* clocks roll on over, as surely it ought, Or come to a standstill at one-nine-double-nought?
"More champagne! More candies! More wine and more beer!" We distracted ourselves with such things of good cheer. And then soon after midnight, worry gone from our heads, In the dawn of the Millennium we repaired to our beds;
My Tux hung with care on the back of a door, While ma's lace-trimmed ballgown lay creased on the floor, And the children light-headed from one glass of champagne, Took to their beds with no word of complaint.
Came the morn of 2000 and all through the town, Not a mainframe was stirring, for all had gone down, The pale sun slowly rose on a frozen grey morn, The whole city lay quiet, not a single car horn.
As the people lay bundled, afraid in the dark, The only sound came from a dog's lonely bark, Our house felt quite chilly, the heat didn't rise, Central heating not working (alas computerized!).
Then a burglar alarm shrieked out with such clangour, It startled us out of our beds and our languor, The children were wailing in shock and despair, Their VCRs dumb due to faulty software.
I dashed out to my garage and got into my car, I turned the key twice, but the thing wouldn't start. The on-board computer that controlled its ignition, Had fallen foul too of software lack of vision.
The software of our systems had locked up and frozen, All our chips lay quiescent, all Windows were closed down. Short-sighted programming and dates with two digits, Had made them fall silent as their time clocks stopped ticking.
With no electricity, to run domestic devices, There was nothing to do but wonder in silence, Until shouts from the neighbourhood declared that the blame, Was with the big corporations who ignored Y2K.
Our computers ran everything, our computers have died, Celebrations forgotten, the champagne lay on ice, The Mayor rode round with a bullhorn promising aid, While people stood silent, shocked and dismayed.
Our new cars relied on their on-board computers, The stores remained closed, their patrons now looters, The more law-abiding stayed locked in their homes, The Emergency Services had no telephones,
Y2K wasn't tackled with appropriate urgency, Now all we have is a State of Emergency.
