Stones in the Road

When we were young, we pledged allegiance
Every morning of our lives
The classroom rang with children's voices
Under teacher's watchful eye
We learned about the world around us
At our desks and at dinnertime
Reminded of the starving children
Cleaned our plates with guilty minds

The stones in the road
We played like marbles in the dust
Until a voice called for us
To make our way back home
The stones in the road

When I was ten, my father held me
On his shoulders above the crowd
To see a train draped in mourning
Pass slowly through our town
His widow kneeled with all her children
At the sacred burial ground
And the TV glowed that long hot summer
With all the cities burning down

And the stones in the road
Flew out from our bicycle tires
Worlds removed from all those fires as we raced
Each other home
The stones in the road

Stones

And now we drink our coffee on the run
Climb that ladder rung by rung
We are the daughters and the sons
But here's the line that's missing

The starving children have been replaced
By souls out on the street
We give a dollar when we pass
And hope our eyes don't meet
We pencil in, we cancel out
We crave the corner suite
We kiss your ass
We make you hold, we doctor the receipt

Stones in the road
Flew out from beneath our wheels
Another day, another deal, before we get back home

The stones in the road
Leave a mark from whence they came
A thousand points of light or shame
Baby, I don't know

Stones in the road

Stones

In the road