I was born, I was born In a bucket filled with shit I was born in the world as it is. I was raised, I was raised In a mill town my papa quit I was raised in the world as it is. So I joined, yes I joined For a rifle and a soldier’s kit And i joined the world as it is Then we sailed, yes we sailed To the trenches and the devil’s pit We sailed to the world as it should have never been. We were told, we were told They would grant us some benefit We were told that’s the world as it is But we learned, oh we learned Who’s a liar and a hypocrite We learned of the world as it was So we turn, yes we turn To the nation till they commit To turn the world as it should be.

What I seen, my wife ain’t heard What I heard, my kids don’t know What I done, I know would kill Whatever love they bear me still When I come home, it’s just the same Though you know, you know, I said a prayer But I don’t know I’m just a name Cause that boy my mama bore so long ago is over there. Over there, over there, over there. Over there, over there That boy is over there. What they ask, I just can’t tell What I tell, they don’t believe What I dream I won’t forget At least I ain’t forgot it yet They say I’m home, but how can they be? When I don’t feel like I’m anywhere I feel a ghost, not really me. Cause that boy my mama bore is somewhere buried over there. Over there, over there, over there. Over there, over there This boy is over there. So we stood outside the carnival and watched the twenties roar. Shell-shocked fools like us we couldn’t take it anymore We slipped away like strays to sleep in any darkened door And tried to hold on tight to what the world tried to ignore. Over there, over there, over there. Over there, over there Your boys are over there. What I need they still won’t give And what I gave I can’t get back. And what I have does me no good And how could I have thought it would? So I’ll leave home, I’ll ride the rails And I’ll tell them what they owe, I swear But this I know, if all else fails I’ll get that boy my mama loved back from over there. Over there, over there, over there. Over there, over there.

A bill becomes a law like a man becomes a fool Starts off making sense, ends up a talking mule. Bill becomes a law like a man becomes a fool And if your life depends on him You’ll find out just how cruel life is. Life is. A bill becomes a law like a wife becomes a whore Starts off loving you, turns out she’s loving more A bill becomes a law like a wife becomes a whore And if your love depends on her You’ll find out just how poor love is. Love is. A bill becomes a law like a saint becomes a thief Starts off doing good, then sins beyond belief. A bill becomes a law like a saint becomes a thief And if your hope depends on them You’ll find out how much grief hope is. Grief is. A bill becomes a law like a vet becomes a tramp Starts off hot as hell, ends up all cold and damp. A bill becomes a law like a vet becomes a tramp But if your law depends on me You’ll find out what a camp of us is. Of us is.   On to Washington Let’s get this army on the move Fall in, soldier, straighten up. You ain’t a bum with an old tin cup Chest out, chin high, giddyup We’ve got a lot to prove. On to Washington Let’s get this army on its way Jump the freights like we did as kids Nobody there to say we hit the skids Won’t turn back, no, heaven forbids We’re gonna have our day. On to Washington Watch the country roll on by Railroad men don’t hit those brakes You were a soldier too you know what that takes They’ve got work, we’ve got aches We’re gonna ask them why. Passing these american ghosts on the road Bindles and hollowed out eyes Turn to the train and they cheer as we pass The hopes of a nation arise. On to Washington From every corner of the land Oregon to Tennessee From fruited plain to the factory North to south and sea to sea We’ll make them understand. On to Washington No one’s gonna keep us down Let us in quiet or we’ll run amok Too many years spent being stuck Hoover’s just run out of luck We’re coming in to town.

CHORUS: Son of a bitch, son of a bitch I say son of a bum A female cur can birth a Sir But a bum begets a bum. VERSE 1 The banker stands with his hand out The banker rattles his cup Uncle Sam goes and gets the keys And the Treasury opens up. CHORUS The good man teaches his children The shame it is to beg There goes the banker and his well-fed kids With the goose and the golden egg. CHORUS Lords of war in their corporate lairs Where all the guns were made Don’t give a piss for the doughboy now Their bonus was already paid. CHORUS Britain and France owed millions Congress forgave the debt Try that one time at the five and dime And see what you all get. CHORUS If you get drunk on moonshine The cops are at your door If your drink is fine champagne The mayor himself will pour. CHORUS The rich man talks about taxes The rich man he ought to know He bought the folks on Capitol Hill Just to keep his taxes low. CHORUS I could go on forever Well maybe one more verse The rich and the rest are in different worlds And the rich one ain’t the worse. CHORUS

Come to the camp Just cross the 11th Street span Come to the camp See where it all began. We got room for you We got mulligan stew We got flies and we’ve got ants. We got soldiers and sailors And pillbox hill scalers And the man who saved Patton’s life back in the war in France. Come to the camp Just cross the 11th Street span Come to the camp Join your fellow man. We got pickers who croon Got a piano out of tune A spot set up to sing and dance We got our own gazette They ain’t cleared us out yet But we’ve got Mama’s Boy MacArthur wetting his khaki pants. Come to the camp Come pick a cozy plot If you come to the camp You’ll see what we ain’t got. 'Cause Jim Crow didn’t show. We’re all in this together. The Reds stayed in their beds. I guess they can’t take the warm weather. The Brownshirts changed into skirts And traded their caps for a feather The Anarchists all broke their fists While we were out hauling leather. Come to the camp Just cross the 11th Street span Come to the camp Bring a little food if you can. We got Bibles and pens A tent of amens. We got a soapbox where everyone rants. We got a three-legged hound. We got the higher ground. And we've got fifteen thousand doughboys looking for a second chance. Come to the camp Come to the camp  

The red, white and blue mean the world to me I’d die before I see them sag But when the landlord comes to call You can’t pay the rent with the flag. Old glory is the world’s delight I’d never be ashamed to brag But when you’re sitting on a pair of jacks You can’t bid the hand with the flag. The U.S.A. stands for freedom, and freedom isn’t free. But a dollar a day for an army sounds awful cheap to me. The stars and stripes swell my heart with pride But then the taxman starts to nag And the old commie whore at the cathouse by the tracks Says you can’t pay the bill with the flag. Patriots tell me thank for your service Ignore the fact I’m dressed in a rag They shake my hand, I say they’re lucky You can’t shoot a man with the flag. At the factory before the war I made a buck an hour, I guess those days are passed. The factory man always paid on time And I was hardly ever gassed. My country’s colors are all I really need But when my spirits start to lag The moonshine still is run by a vet Who lets me drink free for the flag He lets me drink free for the flag.

To you my brothers in arms, To my old brothers in arms and the war we won My brothers in arms, I’d raise a glass if I had one. Haven’t felt me such purpose Haven’t felt me such pride in all these years Hadn’t found me a reason to get off the floor Till I saw you. My brothers in arms My ugly brothers in arms with the bad, bad breath My brothers in arms, I promise you, brothers till death. Haven’t felt me such power Haven’t felt me such strength in all these years Hadn’t found me a reason to get out the door Till I smelled you. My brothers in arms My dumbass brothers in arms with the stupid grin My brothers in arms, let’s raise a cheer, you know we will win. Can you all feel the promise? Can you all feel the hope after all these years? Can you all see the reason we came here for? Now let’s show them. My brothers in arms My no good brothers in arms of the balding head My brothers in arms, let’s raise some hell, to show we ain’t dead! Heard the say we’re just bums out here Heard them say we’re just two bit malcontents Heard them say we’re just sad sacks to ignore But we’re an army Of brothers in arms Obnoxious brothers in arms who know who were are O, brothers in arms, we happy few, we’ve come so far. We’ve come so far.

Uncle Sam in ’35 Picked some men to work down in Florida. Stood in line, wait all day, Hope for a chance to work down in Florida. We saw them off that day, We all tipped our caps and told ourselves: “They’re the lucky ones.” Built that bridge, laid those roads, From Key West to the mainland of Florida. Who knew what? Who knew when? Weather changes quick down in Florida. We had blue skies that day, We all looked for work and told ourselves: “They’re the lucky ones.” Labor Day in ’35 Big storm hits the keys, it’s a hurricane. Woh— Eighteen foot waves they said, Nowhere to hide from the wrath of a hurricane. Woh– We heard the news that day, We all held our breath and told ourselves: “There’ll be lucky ones.” Coast Guard plane warned some folks, Never bothered with the camps of the working men. Woh— Rescue train, sent too late, Never even stopped at the camps of the working men. Woh— Four hundred died that day, We all hung our heads and asked ourselves: “Where are the lucky ones?” Five months pass, Congress sits, Guess what? They pass a Bonus bill. Woh— All those years, all those vets, Selling apples as they wait for a Bonus bill. Woh— We held our checks that day, We all shook our heads and told ourselves: “I guess, we’re the lucky ones.”

The tents are all gone but still their imprints remain. The army’s moved on but we were not there in vain They can’t hide in their halls They can’t pretend we’re not here They will listen or else We will back there again next year. The country I love is not the country I see The nation we are is not the one we need be They can burn down our camps They can drive us from here But they will listen or else We will be back there again next year. The soldier I was is not the man here today The war over there won’t take our voices away We will hold our heads high Will tell the world till they hear. They will listen or else We will be back there again next year.