Charles Theodore Zerner - The American Way Lyrics

It’s been three hundred years,
and a country built
On violence greed,
guns and fear.
The people Europe didn’t want,
They sent ‘em here.
And so began the line of genocide
and slavery
Now we call them pioneers.

They built the two party democracy
The laissez-faire economy
The grand way of saying that the law of the land
Still stands.
‘Cause you don’t have to be a Harvard man
To understand that the rules are being written by the upper hand.

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America the beautiful,
Lost in a dream.
Wake up, wake up my darlin’
I wanna hear you scream.

We love our gangster mythology
Billy the Kid
Bonnie and Clyde on a deathwish
Ridin’ through the countryside
Robbin’ banks and takin’ lives
Runnin’ like they’ll never die
Guess it’s no surprise
those are the heroes in the public eye.

Just look at the other side
The bankers, the lawyers
it don’t matter which
‘cause if you’re shootin’ for the money,
join mercenary army of the rich.

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We’re waging war without apology
Guam, Vietnam, Iraq
And when you trace it back
You hear the Trail of Tears
And see the media steer opinion
‘til the public screams, “Attack.”
What were you supposed to think?
You read it white and black.
It’s the TV reality
Four point three hours a day
what advertisers pay to say
becomes the new normality
for the nation in sedation
an entire generation
slouched back on the couch eatin’ snacks and flippin’ stations.

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You gotta free yourself
Ride West, son stake your claim
Learn the rules, reinvent the game
And the human race runnin’ for the money and the fame
We The People lie and cheat, steal and pass the blame.

Act like friends,
chat like friends,
love like friends
Until you try to shame my name.
But I keep on track,
I smile right back.
I don’t lose a beat,
‘cause the facts remain:
I started singin’ in the city on the street
From the bottom of the chain
Long enough, now I laugh
My clothes can’t stain
So when we meet, keep it neat
Take a seat,
You can’t beat the game I maintain
on this runaway train.

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