Lyrics
I love my country
By which I mean I'm indebted joyfully
To all the people throughout its history
Who have fought the government to make right
Where so many cunning sons and daughters
Our foremothers and forefathers
Came singing through slaughter
Came through hell and high water
So that we could stand here and behold breathlessly the sight
How a raging river of tears cut a grand canyon of light
Yeah, I've been a few places now
Flown through vast empty spaces
With stewardesses whose hands look much older than their faces
And I've tossed so many napkins into that big hole in the sky
I've been at the bottom of the Atlantic seething in a two-ply
Looking up through all that water and the fishes swimming by
And I don't always feel lucky, but I'm smart enough to try
'Cause humility has buoyancy and above us only sky
So I lean in, breathe deeper that brutal burning smell
That surrounds the smoldering wreckage that I've come to love so well
Yes, color me stunned and dazzled
By all the red, white and blue flashing lights
In the American intersection
Where black crashed head on with white
Comes a melody, comes a rhythm
A particular resonance
That is us and only us
Comes a screaming ambulance
And a hand that you can trust
Laid steady on your chest
Working for the better good
Which is good at its best
And two bearing witness
Like a woman bears a child with all her might
Born of the greatest pain
Into a grand canyon of light
And because no song has gone unsung here
And this joint is strung crazy tight
And people have been raising up their voices
Since it just ain't been right
With all the righteous rage and all the bitter spite
That will accompany us out of this long night
That will grab us by the hand when we are ready to take flight
Seat back and tray table in the upright and locked position
Shocked to tears by each new vision of all that my ancestors have done
For instance, the women who gave their lives so that I could have one
Yep, born into ground zero of the feminist revolution
It was an inside job, stoic and sly
One we're supposed to forget and downplay and deny
But I think the time is nothing if not nigh
To let the truth out
Coolest f-word ever deserves a fucking shout
I mean, why don't all decent men and women call themselves feminists?
If only out of respect for those who fought for this
I mean, look around
We have this
We have this
We have this
Yes, I love my country
By which I mean I'm indebted joyfully
To all the people throughout its history
Who have fought the government to make right
Where so many cunning sons and daughters
Our foremothers and forefathers
Came singing through slaughter
Came through hell and high water
So that we could stand here and behold breathlessly the sight
How a raging river of tears is cutting a grand canyon of light
