The world was all ours, or so we’d been told
We could have whatever we wanted, it was all ours to hold
For fortune favors the free and the bold
Yippie-i-io, yippie -i-o-ki-yay
I am a proud child of the brave U.S. of A
Had a flag on my wall, it was red, white, and blue
Someone stole it from me, and they sold it to you
And all of that time, we were embarked upon war
Knew where it was, never knew what it was for
My friend’s brother came home, I saw them at the store
He said to me, Little buddy, I don’t want to go back there no more
Dad was out back, out there by the fenceI told him they’d killed him, just like the president
The gunman got away, no one knows where he went
Our neighbor said maybe now those goddamn
niggers will finally see sense
The gunman got away, no one knows where he went
Our neighbor said maybe now those goddamn
niggers will finally see sense
The senator had to tell them that their prince
was dead
It wasn't so much what, as how gently
it was said
He consoled them in the dark with tragic
words that he'd read
Two months later he took a bullet in his
own head
Yippie-i-o, yippie i-o-ki-yay
I am a proud child of the brave U.S. of A
Had a flag on my wall, it was red white and blue
Someone stole it from me and they sold it to you
And he rode in his casket behind the two mules
He’d worked this old earth with just the simplest of tools
Plain words shone in his mouth like the most precious
of jewels
Who’d want to make any harder what is already so cruel?
The people waited by the tracks in the sun and the rain
My map of the country was all bloodied and stained
Hello tomorrow, sorrow and pain
Yippie-i-io, yippie -i-o-ki-yay
I am a proud child of the brave U.S. of A
Had a flag on my wall, it was red, white, and blue
Someone stole it from me, and they sold it to you
Then the sufferers set the ghettos
on fire
They made of their own homes
a great funeral pyre
Too many broken promises,
thwarted desires
Make hopes and dreams the confidence
schemes of liars
And the whole world was watching those kids in the streets
Of the city with the big shoulders, where the democrats meet
I knew they were righteous if doomed to defeat
And I’ve nevermore trusted the cop on the beat
The swiftest stood with their fists in the air
Their heads were bowed, their feet were bare
In supplication and defiance for the sufferers not there
So the owners stole their gold and silver away from that pair
Yippie-i-io, yippie -i-o-ki-yay
I am a proud child of the brave U.S. of A
Had a flag on my wall, it was red, white, and blue
Someone stole it from me, and they sold it to you
Saw fit to pass judgment on things so long since begun
The fighter spoke like a child, but I saw his purpose was
strong
He said I was never called “nigger” by them Viet Cong
The gypsy stepped out and set fire to that song
He said he thought it was groovy, others said it was
wrong
But the flag ain’t the property of the rich and the strong
We’re all native sons, we all belong
Yippie-i-io, yippie -i-o-ki-yay
I am a proud child of the brave U.S. of A
Had a flag on my wall, it was red, white, and blue
Someone stole it from me, and they sold it to you
Well, I lack ambition and I cannot keep score
Ever since then I sometimes wonder what all this freedom is for
And I remember what that boy told me was the truth of his war
"Once you fuck up that bad kid, you don't have to live up
to nothin' no more
Once you fuck up that bad, kid, you don't have to live up
to nothin' no more"
Yippie-i-io, yippie -i-o-ki-yay
I am a proud child of the brave U.S. of A
Had a flag on my wall, it was red, white, and blue
Someone stole it from me, and they sold it to you
I am a proud child of the brave U.S. of A
Had a flag on my wall, it was red, white, and blue
Someone stole it from me, and they sold it to you
