The American Way
I was in a hurry
Looking for a job
Things had not gone well for me
I felt that I’d been robbed
While walking on
An old soldier came
And kept up with my stride
So faster then I moved my feet
As if by this I’d hide
The anger that welled up in me
And yet what could I do
I heard him sing a melody
One then I thought I knew
So there I stopped to hear his words
What would this soldier say?
He sang a song I’ve heard men sing
They call The American Way
Do you know this ‘American Way?
The old soldier asked me then
I’d been to school
I knew the rule
My anger swelled again
It goes ‘Truth’, Justice, Liberty,
I counted off my fingers three
And turned to go
As if to show
I was done with him
With greater ease than I had myself
He stepped in front of me
Give me just a moment more
And listen to me please
Son, that answers pretty fair
The one most people give
But there is more for you to know
It will change the way you live
It’s really always been here
But hardly ever taught
If you’d like to know the answer son
Just listen to my thoughts
Close your eyes a moment now
And hear what I will say
We are going to a place I know
It’s called the American way
So then there was a flash of light
Followed by a bang
His voice boomed out quite loudly then
And in my ear it rang
Open up your eyes again
And look upon the three
Majestic towers rising up
Called ‘Truth’, Justice, Liberty
Look higher still on top of these
To the place our nation stands
Its beacon bright throws out our light
That’s seen in every land
And from that vantage point on high
Our melody we sing
In all the world our voices go
And in their ears it rings
So men have come from every land
Upon our shores to make their stand
And join us in our harmony
United there for all to see
Sir, said I respecting him
Why is it now that we can sing?
What do we have that’s so much more?
That brings these people to our shores
Son, he said, as he looked at me
The answers there for all to see
And pointing now, down to the ground
Where the base of these three towers found
‘A rock’, an anchor, in the blood of men
Who fought and died so we could live
And with that blood still running red
This wise old soldier now bowed his head
And beckoned me to do the same
As on this rock his hands where laid
And from that place where the towers rose
This firm foundation I’d come to know
There burned within my memory
The foundations name ‘Equality”
Then up he sprang and began to dance
As if to wake me from a trance
‘Equality’ he gave a shout
‘Equality’ his voice boomed out
‘Equality’ it is the rock
Upon which this nation stands or not
These towers three are weak you see
Unless they stand on ‘Equality’
I looked again upon the three
Majestic there for all to see
‘Truth’, Justice, Liberty
So firmly rooted in ‘Equality’
Now something’s happened
There’s been a change
From boy to man I’d come of age
And from my heart I now could say
I truly knew
The American Way