The American Way

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