In the “Tractor Man” episode of Lie to Me, Eli Loker (Brendan Hines) is in charge of taking care of a group of third-graders on a field trip to the Lightman Group Offices (a private company that uses the applied sciences of lie detection)—a job complicated when a potentially (and literally) explosive situation develops near the office building they are located in. As he and their teacher (Felicia Day) try to keep the children entertained and shield them from knowing about the danger, they work with the children to develop the following (rather insightful) song:
I say I’m 10 when I’m nine and a half,
My uncle tells a joke and I try to laugh,
In gym I fake a headache when I want to quit
I say I love the sweater that my grandma knit
But that’s a white lie (white lie)
That’s the kind you wanna tell
A white lie (white lie)
So you’re mom won’t have to yell
A white lie (white lie)
Everybody does it cause it feels alright and it’s more polite
But a lie’s still a lie even when it’s white
I pretend I’m asleep when my dad walks in
I said I ate my chicken but I just ate the skin
Your face can say you’re lying when your mouth says your not
Your pants are on fire but they’re not too hot
When it’s a white lie (white lie)
It’s the kind you wanna tell
A white lie (white lie)
So your dad won’t have to yell
A white lie (white lie)
Everybody does it cause it feels alright and it’s more polite
But a lie’s still a lie even when it’s white
While it might be hard to say what’s true
Would you want a white lie told to you?
But that’s a white lie (white lie)
It’s the kind you wanna tell
A white lie (white lie)
So your mom won’t have to yell
A white lie (white lie)
Everybody does it cause it feels alright and it’s more polite
But a lie’s still a lie even when it’s white
(Video: YouTube)