Scars and Spikes

My dad and my uncle fought in Vietnam Their dad and their uncles before them stood strong For a country, a people who believed in the flag That stood for unity, strength and justice for all

Our leaders keep leading with promise and pleas While we keep on drowning in tax and disease The walls built between us divide by design The wealthy get fatter while we all pick sides

What ever happened to live and let live What ever happened to try and forgive We are killing our country our daughters our sons For party, for privilege, but not for freedom.

Not free to be you not free to be me Not free to believe and not free to see Not free to occupy the places we made Not safe for our kids in the streets where we played

Want to sit on my porch with my friends and a beer Watch the kids play outside without any fear But the news keeps on screaming and the algorithms know Keep us divided, keep us watching the show

What ever happened to live and let live What ever happened to try and forgive We are killing our country our daughters our sons For party, for privilege, but not for freedom

The suits make their speeches, the cameras all roll But the words and the actions don’t match anymore They promise protection, they promise us peace Then lock all the doors and then swallow the keys

They talk about justice from way up on high While the rest of us work and the rest of us try They tell us be patient, the system works slow But it seems to work fast when there’s money to owe

What ever happened to live and let live What ever happened to try and forgive We are killing our country our daughters our sons For party, for privilege, but not for freedom

They speak from the podiums, hands on their hearts While the truth gets buried and the system falls apart They say it’s for safety, they say it’s for peace But the people they’re protecting ain’t you and me

What would my dad say if he saw us today Fighting the wrong fight in the wrong kind of way He didn’t bleed overseas for the left or the right He bled for the neighbor who’d help in the night

What ever happened to live and let live What ever happened to try and forgive We are killing our country our daughters our sons For party, for privilege, but not for freedom

What would my Dad say if he saw us today He’d close his tired eyes and he’d softly pray Lord they’re all someone’s baby, every soul on this earth Each life is precious, same infinite worth