Tuesday, June 5, 2012

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


4 comments:

  1. This is a powerful piece and strikes to the core of prejudice.

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  2. Dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Robert Wagner, and all those who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King. He taught me to never remain silent about injustice and discrimination.

    ReplyDelete