American Hope
Hour to hour;
Day to day;
Month to month at most.
Empty of history,
No great mystery,
Just make enough money to coast.
Numb the pain
That could drive you insane;
What’s to gain if this sad old world should explode,
Or erode,
Or melt,
Or be frozen by hearts made of stone.
It’s become too easy for the mind to gloss
Over those who are dying on poverty’s cross,
And Ignore the mounting ecological cost,
And leave the answers to those who lead,
Seeking our solace in corporate greed,
In need of conviction, we don’t care how you plead;
As you put our money in national banks,
Which invest, in turn, in missiles and tanks.
(Don’t read the contract, just fill in the blanks),
And to save our elections,
And religious affections,
And consumer values we hold so dear,
And to maintain the compliance
Of our friends in alliance,
And destroy all defiance where it should appear,
We break our own laws,
Attack without cause:
In the eagle’s sharp claws are the shreds of our fear.
We are numbed in frivolity
In this brainwashed society
Without sense or sobriety, split into pieces
Of great isolation;
Too much imitation
To find consolation in a statue of Jesus.
Do you know what I mean?
Have you seen what I’ve seen?
Have you had the same dream
Of friendship between us?
