THE GHOST FROM VALLEY FORGE
I had a dream the other night
I didn't understand,
A figure walking through the mist,
with a flintlock in his hand.
His clothes were torn and dirty,
as he stood there by my bed,
He took off his three-cornered hat,
and speaking low he said:
We fought a revolution
to secure our liberty,
We wrote the Constitution,
as a shield from tyranny.
For future generations,
this legacy we gave,
In this, the land of the free
and home of the brave.
The freedom we secured for you,
we hoped you'd always keep,
But tyrants labored endlessly
while your parents were asleep.
Your freedom gone - your courage lost,
you're no more than a slave,
In this, the land of the free
and the home of the brave.
You buy permits to travel,
and permits to own a gun.
Permits to start a business
or to build a place for one
On land that you believe you own
you pay a yearly rent
Although you have no voice
in choosing how the money's spent
Your children must attend a school
that doesn't educate
Your moral values can't be taught
according to the state
You read about the current "news"
in a very biased press
You pay a tax you do not owe
to please the IRS.
Your money is no longer made
of silver or of gold,
You trade your wealth for paper
so life can be controlled
You pay for crimes that make our Nation
turn from God to shame,
You've taken Satin's number
as you've traded in your name
You've given government control
to those who do you harm
So they can padlock churches
and steal the family farm
And keep our country deep in debt
put men of God in jail
Harass your fellow countryman
while corrupted courts prevail.
Your public servants don't uphold
the solemn oath they've sworn
Your daughters visit doctors
so your children won't be born
Your leaders ship artillery
and guns to foreign shores
And send your sons to slaughter
fighting other people's wars
Can you regain your Freedom
for which we fought and died?
Or don't you have the courage
or the faith to stand with pride?
Are there no more values
for which you'll fight to save?
Or do you wish your children
live in fear and be a slave?
Sons of the Republic
arise and take a stand!
Defend the Constitution
the Supreme Law of the Land!
Preserve our Republic
and each God-given right!
And pray to God to keep the torch
of freedom burning bright!
As I awoke he vanished
in the mist from whence he came,
His words were true, we are not free
and we have ourselves to blame.
For even now as tyrants
trample each God-given right
We only watch and tremble
too afraid to stand and fight
If he stood by your bedside
in a dream while you're asleep
And wonder what remains
of your right he fought to keep.
What would be your answer
if he called out from the grave?
Is this still the land of the free
and home of the brave?
"TO SIN BY SILENCE WHEN THEY SHOULD PROTEST
MAKES COWARDS OF MEN!"
~ Abraham Lincoln ~