"We've all come to look for America..."
~Simon & Garfunkel

Our lives are driven by the beat
a marching band to drum up fervor
Whether in politic or relegious fever
we follow the silver baton brass buttons
for who else will save us
So incapabable of thinking for ourselves
and know for a certainty
they have our best interests at heart
Well what they say must be true
if it's in black & white red white & blue

Divide & conquer is the strategy
So strike up the band follow the parade
there is strength in numbers they say
Why stand apart when it is easier
to be one of the crowd and disappear
into the throng and be carried along
on the shoulders of those who agree
There's no middle ground
'cause the popular choice is a safe bet
when you want to belong
so much easier singing the same song
so much easier going along

Hear those numbers click click click
and the wheels turning in our heads
have stopped for dread of being left out
Forge your own path through the fray
This country was built on individual strength
Pound your own drum to your own beat
Don't be swayed by a pied-piper's tune
who will only use your blood sweat tears
Put them to good purpose
make your way on the unbeaten path
 
I count my heartbeats one-by-one
plot a course through the din
I'll use my own will to climb that hill
thank you very much
No fanfare no bugels no cheering crowd
no base drums placards shouting out loud
No tv cameras giving me fame
no wannabe winners praising my name
No words to inflame with convaluted logic
and twisted rhetoric

Progress is not made by followers
but those with the guts and ingenuity
common sense and vision
to embody an entrepreneur's spirit
Arn't we the sons and daughters
of visionarys?
That is America in one heartbeat
So I count my heartbeats one-by-one
and with the power within
set to work with each new day's dawn
Here I drum when the day is done
Here I drum when the day is done

(c) Linda Gayton 2006