Death of The Dream

They put us in our places

Locked inside these classes

With a license to control us

Issued by the brain dead masses

While kids are going hungry

We see their coffers grow

And the pawns keep voting for them

They maintain the status quo

We listen to their promises

As the bullshit piles sky high

They sacrifice our children

And we never ask them why

Ignorance is lethal

Obedience is worse

Is this illusion they call freedom

A blessing or a curse

They speak of God and country

And the people play the game

We tolerate their endless greed

And that’s a goddamn shame

Of the people, for the people

Things are never as they seem

Only sheep that follow blindly

As the shepherds kill the dream

9/11

Charlie McGee had two kids and a wife

The three of them and his job were his life

McGee was a fireman who rose through the ranks

Protecting strangers who rarely said thanks

He got ready for work while his wife stayed in bed

He started to wake her but whispered instead

Saying how much he loved her, then headed uptown

And started the day that the towers came down

His Dad was a fireman like his father before

It fulfilled all his needs, he could never want more

He protected his family, and maybe his mind

By believing that fate couldn’t treat him unkind

So, he gave it his best and he answered the call

In the company of those who would sacrifice all

A band of blood brothers he’d never let down

He proved it the day that the towers came down

He arrived on the scene and ascended to hell

Climbing through smoke in that tower’s stairwell

Looking for comrades who went looking before

With no way of seeing what fate had in store

Calling out names he was hoping weren’t lost

Risking it all while ignoring the cost

And the last thing he heard was the terrible sound

Of concrete and metal when the towers came down

cn 9/11/2010

Could Be You

When you see the lost and lonely

Do you let them know you care

Do you stop to say Hello in There

Or pretend you're unaware

Do you care enough to lend a hand

If there's something you can do

Because let me tell you, brother

That could easily be you

Do you count the many blessings

Good fortune brought your way

Do you feel an obligation

Is there a debt you're bound to pay

Or is privilege your birthright

Is that your point of view

Well, let me tell you sister

That could easily be you

Don't turn your head from suffering

When you feel the teardrops start

Don't let your own discomfort

Hide the aching in your heart

Take the time to touch another life

Because, children this is true

If fate had not been kinder

This could easily be you

cn 8/21/10

Shadows

I am hiding in the shadows

That cloud my troubled mind

A prisoner of circumstance

A little hard to find

A thin façade that shelters me

From all the things I fear

That keeps you at distance

If you should get too near

People think they see inside me

When they really have no clue

They only have perspective

Based on a point of view

Words that stain the page in blood

Leave the slightest trace

Of all that scars the hidden heart

Like lines upon a face

Exposed so briefly in the light

You get a glimpse within

Before I find the safety

Of the shadows once again

cn 8032011

Shame

I saw it when the war began

In the days of shock and awe

All wrapped up in Old Glory

In a way that rubbed me raw

In the gleaming eyes of dogs of war

Who live just for the fight

They profit from the loss of lives

And somehow sleep at night

It’s the darkest side of mankind

Spawned from the devil’s seed

Nurtured by a thirst for blood

And never-ending greed

They don’t care who wins or loses

They just live to play the game

Counting money with the corpses

It’s a crying fucking shame

I saw it in New Orleans

When the winds and rain came in

An indifference to others

Our leaders’ mortal sin

You better not be black or poor

Or man, you’re on your own

There’s a reaper’s harvest coming

For the seeds of shame we’ve sown

It’s the darkest side of mankind

Spawned from the devil’s seed

Nurtured by a thirst for blood

And never-ending greed

They don’t care who wins or loses

They just live to play the game

Counting money with the corpses

It’s a crying fucking shame

I see it on the Gaza strip

In the land where Jesus trod

Mothers and their children dying

In the name of God

Who are God’s chosen people

And what would Jesus do

If he saw the pain and suffering

This nightmare coming true

It’s the darkest side of mankind

Spawned from the devil’s seed

Nurtured by a thirst for blood

And never-ending greed

They don’t care who wins or loses

They just live to play the game

Counting money with the corpses

It’s a crying fucking shame

I see in the bigotry

That lives in my home state

They hide behind a battle cry

Of heritage not hate

But the stars and bars still fly

Here in the place that I call home

And they’re selling in the market

Where the ghosts of slaves still roam

It’s the darkest side of mankind

Spawned from the devil’s seed

Nurtured by a thirst for blood

And never-ending greed

They don’t care who wins or loses

They just live to play the game

Counting money with the corpses

It’s a crying fucking shame

The Right To Remain Silent

Climb aboard, please move on back

Your seat is in the rear

Where you can't bother decent folks

Who don't want you too near

Please don't raise a ruckus

Be a credit to your race

Life was so much simpler

When you people knew your place

You have the right to remain silent

And we really wish you would

All this talk of equal rights

Won't do anybody good

Don't speak of love and harmony

Of peace and brotherhood

You have the right to remain silent

And we really think you should

A young man on a battlefield

Six thousand miles away

Is just following orders

And counting down the days

He had a dream of bravery

Defending liberty

But no one really wants him here

The truth is plain to see

He has the right to remain silent

And we really wish he would

Saying blood for oil is wrong

Won't do anybody good

Don't speak of love and harmony

Of peace and brotherhood

You have the right to remain silent

And we really think you should

Some folks called him prophet

Some said he was God

Few could understand

The path of destiny he trod

He said "Love thy neighbor as thyself."

A message that was lost

They made him an example

And hung him from a cross

He had the right to remain silent

And they really wished he would

This talk of "Blessed are the meek."

Won't do anybody good

Don't speak of love and harmony

Of peace and brotherhood

You have the right to remain silent

And we really think you should