by shaun lawton
for bob dylan
what do we got to go up against power like that?
while they dress up so fancy with hearts blackened dead
they got power & wealth & hypocrite's lips
which can be sealed with a kiss & we got the smarts & the hearts
to do better than this so how long will we complain & remain
little pawns in their game while they fill up the seats
of the courts in the land promising gold & delivering sand
flashing their grins like sharks with their fins
circling round in a feeding frenzy their blood lust aroused
their eyes on our White House to put up their kingpin
to make their check mate & the hour's getting late
while too many of us wait for others or karma to make it all great once again
but I hate to tell you this my friends they got us where it counts
increasing all of their annual percentage rates so there's more money
but I hate to tell you this my friends they got us where it counts
increasing all of their annual percentage rates so there's more money
for them & their coffers to fill while they're sellin' us our own coffins
distracted & wrecked we're paralyzed & left with a narrowing slit
of hope at the end of our rope which is fraying in time
before our own eyes if only we'd rise & get more of us to vote
but alas most of us won't too bitter & beat down to think
there's a chance cuz the game is all rigged & they're makin' us dance on the end of their rope creeping in closer to kick the chair out from under
us while we choke our last breath & start prayin'
for death leavin' us feeling like we have nothin' left
but I'll tell you what it's not over yet they tend to forget
there's a physical law that we were all taught in school
so we're nobody's fool because for every action there's an equal
& opposite one & let me tell you my son we're not like everyone
we will rise & fight back cuz these heartless minions of gravity's greed
but I'll tell you what it's not over yet they tend to forget
there's a physical law that we were all taught in school
so we're nobody's fool because for every action there's an equal
& opposite one & let me tell you my son we're not like everyone
we will rise & fight back cuz these heartless minions of gravity's greed
are just rabid & mean cuz they swallowed all the pills of pure fear
they've been mongering for years now they're twice as afraid as all of the rest of us because they've begun to believe their own lies & that's something we honest to goodness despise
so remember one thing the tides are turnin' this spring
like they do in the summer
& fall while the winter arrives
to erase everything into a clean slate cuz it's never too late
to stand up for yourself & remember that love & compassion are a source of far greater strength than all their machismo & guns
nevermind how they're raising their sons some of them just grow up
to be the same as them while some daughters revolt
so their brothers get jolted out of their hypnotic trance
when they see us all dance in the wind & the rain
see there's nothin' to explain they're all just pawns
in a much greater unbelievable game
the very same game that we like to call life
where the opposing forces of nature both bring
& eliminate strife so be true to yourself
& don't give in to the fear they sow through our television sets
year after year just go out & vote so we can stay afloat
because a full heart will always have room for more love
to fit in while an empty one can't even begin to compete
with the love between neighbors & strangers & all of us
with the strength to forgive & not swallow the bait
as we yet breathe & live in the home of the brave
& the true while the only thing lying between us
& all our success may very well happen to be me or you.
