Back when the pulse of our people was young
We took the land by the light of the gun
We broke their bread, then burned their villages down
But we never let the flag touch the ground
We whitewashed their cultures and made them convert
Knelt on their necks while they were down in the dirt
On to Reservations we sent them all down
But not once did we let the flag touch the ground
We beat 'em until they were all bloody red
Worked 'em until they all wished they were dead
Sold their wives and their kids to a field out of town
But we never let the flag touch the ground
We called 'em to service when we needed 'em to fight
Put 'em in trenches to freeze through the night
Told 'em "We need your sacrifice now"
Told 'em not to let the flag touch the ground
We gave 'em more rights while we screamed "Segregate!"
We beat 'em and hosed 'em to show 'em their place
Made the front for the white and the back for the brown
But we never let the flag touch the ground
Now the old Crow still flies, though he's much more discreet
And those who can see him are out in the street
Does every life really matter? Should the statues come down?
How long can we keep the flag off the ground?
'Cause when the children cross over that southern divide
We take their mothers and fathers and feel justified
We scar them for life just for coming around
But we never dare let the flag touch the ground
I once heard a song, sounded more like a poem
Or a prophecy warning the people of Rome
They ignored justice and so freedom fell
That's why there's a crack in the Liberty Bell
And now that I'm older, it weighs on my soul
All the unlived ideals, all the freedom we stole
Our history's song is soaked in the sound
Of our brothers' blood crying out from the ground
In all of this violence, is God on our side?
Or is He nailed to the wood of the beams in our eyes?
Is our cause always just and our strategy sound
As long as we don't let the flag touch the ground?