American Thing

We got hip-hop/be-bop
rock and roll and blue-eyed soul
cool jazz/bluegrass
Funk/borrowed punk
It’s an American thing/I hope you understand

We got deep dish/catfish
Collard greens and Buffalo wings
Tofu/soulfood
Jambalya/apple pie
It’s an American thing/I hope you understand

This ain’t about no government
This ain’t about no greedy corporation
This ain’t no advertisement for you to join the consumer nation
A lot of us wanna see everyone in the world living free
Life’s better when you have the chance
To sing your own song and do your own dance

We got border walls/refugees
Skinheads/Dr. Martin Luther King
We got love/we got hate
We get it right/we make mistakes
We have beautiful dreams but we’re just human beings
It’s an American thing/I hope you understand

This ain’t about no government
This ain’t about no greedy corporation
This ain’t no advertisement for you to join the consumer nation
A lot of us wanna see everyone in the world living free
All the abused/the abandoned
the misused and the trapped and
gentle and kind/deaf and blind
hung up/strung out one-of-a-kind
meek and brave/wild and tame
all those who are truly insane
dark and light/left and right
soldiers strong enough not to fight
all the infected and all the rejected
livin’ for a cure/dyin’ for a cure

Richard Helm