Lyrics Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard

American Waltz

The sweat of the oxen, the crack of the whip

The wheels turn slow in the dust

And with a heart full of hope

With desire we wrote California or bust

And we danced the American waltz

It couldn't have happened anywhere else

We used our muscle and we used our minds

Building a nation, a dream at a time

A horse made of iron that could outrun the wind

Roared into the next century

And as the tracks turned to roads

And the crude oil flowed

Through the veins of the great Model T

We danced the American waltz

It couldn't have happened anywhere else

We used our muscle and we used our minds

Building a nation, a dream at a time

We had the courage and we made the machines

O'er like an eagle we flew

And not long ago God reached out his hand

To the man who walked on the moon

And we danced the American waltz

It couldn't have happened anywhere else

We used our muscle and we used our minds

Building a nation, a dream at a time

And the dreams roll on

Through the mothers and fathers and children

Born on the wings of freedom

Pass it on, pass it on