The National Anthem

[Hook: Haley Bonar] You can call it a love song You can call it a death rattle You can call it a battle cry You can call it the national anthem for your side [Verse 1: Guante] I pass a tank and think for a second That the past caught up to us but it’s a replica Or retired, on the front lawn of an American Legion A proud, steel messenger Without a message, no shells to suck on Silent, empty as a love song If I could open up the hatch we could make such beautiful music But I can’t do it so I keep movin’ No cars or trucks, but I bet ya all your dough they live longer than us And I don’t bother to run but don’t walk too slow Who knows? we ain’t built for this And that’s why we die and kill for this Every refugee is on a pilgrimage Every runaway slave is on a pilgrimage Every border jumper is on a pilgrimage And our prayers may not add up to much A love song, a death rattle, a battle cry Or the ticking of a time bomb When they reminisce over you, my god [Hook: Haley Bonar] You can call it a love song You can call it a death rattle You can call it a battle cry You can call it the national anthem for your side [Verse 2: Guante] Oh say, can you see Two fresh band aids on my feet Been walkin’ so long I’d forgotten that song That tune, that prayer and that beat But we are waking up in our caskets We are so thirsty for oxygen We are digging out of our burial plots We call it renaissance and you’re callin’ it apocalypse And if I ever make it to the ocean Approachin’ with hell at my heels and heaven out of focus I will whisper a prayer and breathe in a melody Thick enough to touch And fuck it, it might never add up to much A love song, a death rattle, a battle cry Or the ticking of a time bomb... [Hook: Haley Bonar] You can call it a love song You can call it a death rattle You can call it a battle cry You can call it the national anthem for your side [Outro: Guante] And your side, is winning this war Your side is dripping wet with god Your side writes the history books So your side has never lost I take my hat off, and try to wipe this melody from my forehead But there are so many voices, singing so loudly Running Out of breath