TIS OF THEE: ani difranco

They caught the last poor man on a poor man's vacation The cuffed him and they confiscated his stuff They dragged his black ass down to the station... And said, okay, the streets are safe now All your pretty white children can come out and see spot run And they came out of their houses And they looked around but they didn't see no one... My country 'tis of thee To take swings at each other on the talk show TV Why don't you just go ahead and turn off the sun 'cause we'll never live long enough To undo everything they've done to you Undo everything they've done to you... Above 96th street They're handin' out smallpox blankets so people don't freeze. The old dogs have got a new trick It's called criminalize the symptoms while you spread the disease... And I hold on hard to something Between my teeth when I'm sleeping I was up and my jaw aches And the earth is full of earthquakes... My country 'tis of thee To take shots at each other on prime time TV Why don't you just go ahead and turn off the sun 'cause we'll never live long enough To undo everything they've done to you Undo everything they've done to you... And I'm trying to see through the glare Yes, I'm struggling just to see what is there The one person who really knows me best, says I'm like a cat... The kind of cat that you can't pick up and throw into your lap No, the kind that doesn't mind being held only when it's her idea Yeah, the kind that feels what she decides to feel When she's good and ready to feel it... Now I am prowling through the backyard And I am hiding under the car I have gotten out of everything, I've gotten into so far I eat when I am hungry and I travel alone And just outside the glow of the house Is where I feel most at home But in the window you sometimes appear And your music is faint in my ears...