Lyrics The Great American Novel - Kevin Max

The Great American Novel

I was born, raised an orphan in a land that once was free
In a land that poured its love out on the moon
And I grew up in the shadows in your silos filled with grain
But you never helped to fill my empty spoon
And when I was 10, you murdered love with courtroom politics
And you learned how to make a lie sound just like truth
But I know you better now and I don’t fall for all your tricks
And you’ve lost the one advantage of my youth
You kill a black man at midnight just for talking to your daughter
Then you make his wife your mistress and you leave her without water
And the sheet you wear upon your face is the sheet your children sleep on
It’s against the law to pray in school
You say we beat the Russians to the moon
And I say you starved your children to do it
You are far across the ocean but the war is not your own
And while you’re winning theirs, you’re gonna lose the one at home
Do you really think the only way to bring about the peace
Is to sacrifice your children and kill all your enemies?
The politicians all make speeches while the news men all take note
And they exaggerate the issues as they shove them down our throats
Is it really up to them whether this country sinks or floats?
Well, I wonder who would lead us if none of us would vote
Well, my phone is tapped and my lips are chapped from whispering through the
fence
You know every move I make, or is that just coincidence?
Well, you try to make my way of life a little less like jail
If I promise to make tapes and slides and send them through the mail
And your money says in God we trust
But it’s against the law to pray in school
You say we beat the Russians to the moon
And I say you starved your children to do it
You say all men are equal, all men are brothers
Then why are the rich more equal than others?
Don’t ask me for the answer, I’ve only got one
That a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son