Once Upon a Time in America

It was the west of times and was the east the times

It was love from the Beatles and rage from the Stones

It was the time of hope and love and brotherhood

We lived close to the earth and flew high in the sky

Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Joan Baez

Were our voices which were raised against inequality

Where have all the heroes gone, long time passing

The hope has died, the light is gone, and the moneymen still rule

Rhythm was our hearts and music was our soul

And we marched to the beat of our own drummers

Hate was the law of the land in those halcyon days

And we dreamed that we could convert it into Camelot

It was the war of the young at home trying to end the war of the old far away

We dreamed of making a difference and changing the world

But the men of money held the country in their hands

And the land of hope and glory was stolen and sold

We were blinded by gold and baubles and beads

And our souls were bartered away

We got i-pads and cell phones and SUVs

In trade for honor, justice and compassion

We sang and marched and pleaded and prayed

But many sank or were killed with no peace in sight

We wanted strength and love for all the people

But our government said that the dollar was god

We had a vision of equality over the horizon

Which we were never allowed to see

We got over that war through the blood and the tears

Of our youth both here and across the sea

And so here we are over fifty years down the road

Still killing the innocent in another foreign land

The money men are still in control of our young

Our beautiful message was completely ignored

John C. Dodds Jr.  2/27/13