Lyrics

American Son

On the day that you were born
they were smoking cigarettes
you were breathing it in
You were tugging on her breast
hungry as a flea on a dog half dead

Heeeey, hey, American Son
they taught you how to choke
but you learned how to run

Under water at the church
in a porcelain tub
they said that you were saved
but they didn't say from what
And you saw the Deacon's son
laughing at a picture of a black man hung

Heeeey, hey, American Son
they taught you how to pray
but you learned how to run

Made it through school
on the G.I. Bill
you were questioning war
you are questioning still
the cancer in your grandma's neck
taught you how to learn
from the ghosts in the wreck

Heeeey, hey, American Son
they taught you how to hate
but you learned how to run

ahhh ahhh aaa aaaay, ahh ahhh aaa aaay aay

The rich get cars, the poor get beer
football games
and televised fear
light a few fireworks out in the drive
the ribs of a pig
on the 4th of July

heeeey, hey, American Son
they taught you how to stay
but you learned how to run

Lyrics Copyright Jay Thomas Wolff Bowden, 2010-2017