Trail of Tears

In a land without any pity

And a sun scorching from the sky

In the desert, they built a city

Sharp as flint that could make you cry

Hold on to it

Hold on to it

It’s a dream that will never die

Come there with me

Come there with me

It’s the home of my own mind’s eye

But the dreamer was never welcome

Other lands have their own demands

Get away boy, you don’t belong here

That’s our law and it always stands

Hold on to it

Hold on to it

It’s a dream that will make you cry

Come there with me

Come there with me

And they’ll let us in by and by

I will meet you when things are better

In a world without any fear

We’ll be facing our bright tomorrow

At the end of this trail of tears

They asked our dreamer for reams of paper

These were the keys that he didn’t own

They pointed back to the land he came from

Said: “Go back there, son ‘cos that’s your home”

Go back to it

Go back to it

No future, no life, no hope

Come there with me

Come there with me

And you’ll see why I can’t go home

And the trail goes on

On and on

For years and years

The trail drags on

Never ending

Trail of tears

So, the dreamer turns from the city

But he asks them before he leaves:

“Who checked your papers to build this country?

Who gave permission for you and not me?”

Think back on it

Think back on it

Land is the land and it was always free

Before you

Before you

No one had papers, they would simply “be”.