Abraham, Martin & John Testo

(richard holler)
I am a backseat driver from america
They drive to the left on falls road
And the man at the wheels name is shamus
We pass a the child on a corner he knows
And shamus says "now what chance has that kid got"
And I say from the back "i don❝t know"
He says "there❝s barbed wire at all of these exits"
There ain❝t no place in belfast for that kid to go
And it❝s a hard life, it❝s a hard life
It❝s a very hard life
It❝s a hard life wherever you go
And we poison our children with hatred
And the hard life is all that they know
At the dairyline in chicago
A fat man in front of me
He❝s calling black people trash to his children
And he❝s the only trash here I see
And I❝m thinking this man wears a white hood
In the night when his children should sleep
But they❝ll slip to their windows and see him
They❝ll think that white hood❝s all they need
And it❝s a hard life, it❝s a hard life
It❝s a very hard life
It❝s a hard life wherever you go
And if we poison our children with hatred
Then the hard life is all that they know
I was a child of the sixties
When dreams could be held through tears
With disney and cronkite and martin luther
And I belived, I believed, I believed
Now I❝m a backseat driver from america
And I❝m not at the wheel of control
And I am guilty, I am worn, I am the root of all evil
And I can❝t drive on the left side of the road
And it❝s a hard life, it❝s a hard life
It❝s a very hard life
It❝s a hard life wherever you go
And if we poison our children with hatred
Then the hard life is all that they❝ll know
And there ain❝t no place in this world for these kids to go
Cause it❝s a hard life wherever you go
Has anybody here seen my old friend abraham,
Can you tell me where he❝s gone?
He freed a lotta people, but it seems the good die young
I just looked around and he❝s gone.
Has anybody here seen my old friend martin,
Can you tell me where he❝s gone?
He freed a lotta people, but it seems the good die young
I just looked around and he❝s gone.
Has anybody here seen my old friend john,
Can you tell me where he❝s gone?
He freed a lotta people, but it seems the good die young
I just looked around and he❝s gone.
Didn❝t you love the things they stood for?
Didn❝t they try to find some good in you and me?
And we❝ll be free
Someday soon it❝s gonna be one day
Has anybody here seen my old friend bobby,
Can you tell me where he❝s gone?
I thought I saw him walkin❝ up over the hill
With abraham and martin and john.