light to the world


dream then of an america still a light to the world
still based on the principles of the declaration
so radical and bold in the flow of a world
of kings and despots and powerful lords
a break from the past for all time
and the world has loved and thanked our land
for the gifts bestowed by a few score men
two hundred twenty eight years ago
words spoken and written and acted upon
so it must be asked
who hijacked this great experiment?
torture of prisoners is not corporals
not sergeants not even generals
not even an administration so foul
we slid this way a long way to reach this point
we closed that joint in the philippines
and hawaii oh say can you see
the grasping hands of the greedy
every generation has them
they rise to the top and scum up the pond
clemens fought them tooth and nail
could you have a better champion
but he lost and we raised the sail to american empire
it has all followed from those first steps
our secret fingers placing guns in the secret hands
to assassinate any voice that might resemble
the voices of our founding fathers
ask the cubans to tell you something good about batista
ask nicaraguans to tell you something good about somoza
ask iranians how they came to have the shah on the peacock throne
our agents spreading autocracy oligarchy plutocracy and
even monarchy with absolute power
so who flicked the switch on the light of freedom
we can point to specific derelict men
but it's you and me for a hundred years
too bored by reading the mundane facts
too seduced by the pleasures wafting before us
to ask how our declaration of independence
and our constitution
came to bear the bullet-riddled fruit of allende
yeah yeah we beat the germans and saved the world
and we honor always those who did so
but our story from clemens time to ours
is not one (truth someday be told)
of advancing those thoughts and ideals so bold

dream then of an america still a light to the world
still based on the principles of the declaration
so radical and bold in the flow of a world
of kings and despots and powerful lords
a break from the past for all time
and the world has loved and thanked our land
for the gifts bestowed by a few score men
two hundred twenty eight years ago
words spoken and written and acted upon
so it must be asked
who hijacked this great experiment?
torture of prisoners is not corporals
not sergeants not even generals
not even an administration so foul
we slid this way a long way to reach this point
we closed that joint in the philippines
and hawaii oh say can you see
the grasping hands of the greedy
every generation has them
they rise to the top and scum up the pond
clemens fought them tooth and nail
could you have a better champion
but he lost and we raised the sail to american empire
it has all followed from those first steps
our secret fingers placing guns in the secret hands
to assassinate any voice that might resemble
the voices of our founding fathers
ask the cubans to tell you something good about batista
ask nicaraguans to tell you something good about somoza
ask iranians how they came to have the shah on the peacock throne
our agents spreading autocracy oligarchy plutocracy and
even monarchy with absolute power
so who flicked the switch on the light of freedom
we can point to specific derelict men
but it's you and me for a hundred years
too bored by reading the mundane facts
too seduced by the pleasures wafting before us
to ask how our declaration of independence
and our constitution
came to bear the bullet-riddled fruit of allende
yeah yeah we beat the germans and saved the world
and we honor always those who did so
but our story from clemens time to ours
is not one (truth someday be told)
of advancing those thoughts and ideals so bold




Posted: Sun - July 4, 2004 at 12:42 AM        
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