Winter in America by Gil Scott-Heron

From 1974. Or today.

From the Indi­ans who wel­comed the pilgrims
And to the buf­fa­lo who once ruled the plains
Like the vul­tures cir­cling beneath the dark clouds
Look­ing for the rain
Look­ing for the rain

Just like the cities stag­gered on the coastline
Liv­ing in a nation that just can’t stand much more
Like the for­est buried beneath the highway
Nev­er had a chance to grow
Nev­er had a chance to grow
And now it’s winter
Win­ter in America

Yes and all of the heal­ers have been killed
Or sent away, yeah
But the peo­ple know, the peo­ple know
It’s winter
Win­ter in America

And ain’t nobody fighting
‘Cause nobody knows what to save
Save your soul, Lord knows
From Win­ter in America

The Con­sti­tu­tion
A noble piece of paper
With free society
Strug­gled but it died in vain
And now Democ­ra­cy is rag­time on the corner
Hop­ing for some rain
Looks like it’s hoping
Hop­ing for some rain

And I see the robins
Perched in bar­ren treetops
Watch­ing last-ditch racists march­ing across the floor
But just like the peace sign that van­ished in our dreams
Nev­er had a chance to grow
Nev­er had a chance to grow

And now it’s winter
It’s win­ter in America
And all of the heal­ers have been killed
Or been betrayed
Yeah, but the peo­ple know, peo­ple know
It’s win­ter, Lord knows
It’s win­ter in America

And ain’t nobody fighting
‘Cause nobody knows what to save
Save your souls
From Win­ter in America
And now it’s winter
Win­ter in America

And all of the heal­ers done been killed or sent away
Yeah, and the peo­ple know, peo­ple know
It’s winter
Win­ter in America

And ain’t nobody fighting
‘Cause nobody knows what to save
And ain’t nobody fighting
Cause nobody knows, nobody knows
And ain’t nobody fighting
‘Cause nobody knows what to save

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