My generation

The whole world cried
But I was dry
You left me by the riverside
But I could not cry

Planes crashed without warning
Melodramatic Tuesday morning
I haven't worn that dress since she died

This dead city came to life
Funny what it takes
For people to treat each other right
Subway riders meeting eyes
23rd street
And all those “missing” signs

It took four months to get back to normal
To go back to business as usual
One year to sift through the rubble
But one second to go back
In our defensive little bubble
And say

“bomb Iraq
Yeah that’s okay
We'll cause a World Trade Center
Every day, cuz hey
We've got the weapons
And someone’s gotta pay for this”

I don't believe it

So the whole world stepped outside
50 million people filling the streets worldwide
But one man still closed his eyes
Yes him and his followers
Who have more safety and security
Than money should
Ever be able to buy

And I thought
Who cries?
Does he cry?
Does his family
Ever die?
Will his daughters ever go to war?
Or do we save that for the poor?

Why do I know more
About Britney than Gandhi?

Between me and Halliburton
There is no love lost
Between me and the Carlyle group
There is no love lost
Between me and Clear Channel
There is no love lost
Between me and Altria (Philip Morris)
There is no love lost

Sure I love my country
But I don't love you
And I'm not ever gonna
Conflate the two
Because that is exactly
What you want us to do
I didn't graduate from college
But I'm smarter than you

And I say “hey big boy
I think yr plan is crap
You can't bomb some place
You couldn't locate on a map”
(and this and that baby…)

My generation needed this
We needed a Vietnam
Cuz if someone didn’t
Drop the bomb
How would we ever wake up?

And we will wake up
I do believe
We will wake up
What’s on TV?
Hey let's go shop
What’s on TV?
Cuz why wake up
When we could sleep…