We were children then
We drove across this country with the windows down
We stopped for gas and ice cream in these reservation towns
The curving mountain lanes
And the asphalt arrow running through the plains
We were lovers then
We drove across this country with the windows down
We touched those heavy stones that hold this nation to the ground
The rocks that have endured;
Great paperweights for freedom's written word
But these awesome peaks
Are not monument enough for our hungry thoughts
We must raise a stone for each brave act, for each war fought
As if memory's great ship
Without these tethered weights would set adrift
And we wondered if our love would endure the certain pain
And if this land could withstand the crimson stain of our hunger
We were dreamers then
We drove across this country with the windows down
We stopped for gas and coffee in these migrant worker towns
We touched those heavy stones
And the greatest lakes this ancient Earth has known
But these torrent streams
Cannot cool the burning of our open pores
We must turn our greedy mouths up to the drinking gourd
From sea to thirsty sea, these mighty rivers yearning to be free
And we wondered if our love would endure the certain pain
And if this land could withstand the iron chains of our hunger
Oh the hunger. Of our hunger, oh the hunger
We are older now
We drive across this country with the windows down
We stop for gas and bathrooms in these slag heap company towns
We buy some pretty stones and fill our tank with prehistoric bones
These fossil lakes
Are the inkwells for a novel of our times
We scratch with furious hands to soothe our feverish minds
Though the ink is running dry, we still insist to write upon the sky
Oh, this spacious sky
Is not poetry enough for our swelling lungs
We must write a thousand songs to carry on our tongues
Our thoughts will burn so bright
We can white the stars out from the sky at night
And we wonder if our love will endure the certain pain
And if this land can withstand the endless strain of our hunger
Oh the hunger. Of our hunger, oh the hunger
Will we be lovers then?
Will we move across this thirsty land of trading posts?
And stop to stretch our tired legs among the hungry ghosts?
As o'er the Earth we roam
The past will live inside these heavy stones
But these pilgrim rocks
Are not elegy enough for our aching hearts
We must plant a stone for every soul when it departs
Until every shady grove is a grinding mouth of molars set in rows
And we'll wonder at how our love endured the certain pain
As we are swallowed by the land again
Oh the hunger. Oh the hunger, oh the hunger, oh the hunger
Oh the hunger, oh the hunger