Day For Decision Lyrics

Day For Decision lyrics

Day for Decision

 Johnny Sea [Warner Bros. 5820]

 (Allen N. Peltier) [Moss Rose Pub. BMI]

 

 Narrative:

 The other day I heard someone say, "You know, America is in real trouble."

 It's true. Old Glory has never fallen so close to the earth . Our

 embassies are being stoned. Our diplomats are often in fear for their

 lives. And we're involved in a half-dozen nameless, winless conflicts

 spilling American blood on foreign soil. Our young men are dying for

 ideals that don't seem to mean too much to Americans anymore.

 

 The truth is America's real trouble doesn't lie in the rice paddies of

 Vietnam, in the masses of Red China, or in the diabolical intrigues to the

 south of us. The real trouble lies in the playgrounds of St. Louis, the

 hillside mansions of San Francisco, and in the slums of Chicago. A disease

 which is slowly eating away at the heart of America lives in the small

 southern towns, the fishing villages of New England, and in the hot dusty

 streets of the midwest.

 

 This is the age of the American cynic. The year of the unbeliever. The day

 of doubt. We've killed all the sacred cows and destroyed all the images.

 And there's nothing left to respect. Old fashioned love of God, country,

 and family is passe. We stare at our shoelaces when they play the national

 anthem. We wouldn't want to be seen at a political rally or a town hall

 meeting. And we don't want to be caught with our eyes closed during public

 prayers. We've decided the only way to get into public office is to buy

 it. Our heroes are the fast guys who get away with things. Patriotism, the

 old hand-over-the-heart, flag-waving singing patriotism has been

 condemned. Think about this. Patriotism. When you tear away the fancy

 phrases and crepe paper, it's plain and simple pride. It's a new

 car-prettier girl-bigger house sort of pride in country. Somewhere along

 the way we've lost it. Our form of government is the same. We still say

 America stands for the same things. But next time you're at a party, ask

 someone to sing "American the Beautiful", and see what happens.

 

 The basic ideals and structure of America haven't changed. We have. You

 and me. Our enemies know it. They've seen the newsreels of the

 discontented marching around the capitol. They've distorted and blown up

 our mistakes. They've been putting steel wedges in the cracks in our wall

 of solidarity. The new idea is: Don't attack America; wear it down

 gradually; it'll eventually fall under the weight of its own corruption.

 And did you know, it's working?

 

 This sneering complacency, once stamped out by the bloody feet of a

 tattered Continental Army in 1776, once drowned beneath the keel of the

 U.S.S. Arizona in Pearl Harbor Bay, has risen again. This deadly "Let

 George do it" attitude lights the way for the Viet Cong in the swampy

 jungles of Vietnam. This "Better red than dead" cancer is more feared by

 the American soldier than all the communist mortar shells. It kills the

 vitality and spirit of America. Democracy is a frail and fragile

 instrument. Made of hope, prayer, and Yankee ingenuity. It is held

 together by a fourth-of-July flag-waving patriotism. And we've almost

 exhausted our supply of it. Try this test. Lift your eyes to a flag, then

 sing out as loud as you can that old out-worn antiquated freedom hymn you

 learned so many years ago:

 

 For purple mountain majesties (for purple mountain majesties)

 Above the fruited plain (above the fruited plain)

 America (America)

 America (America)

 God shed His grace on thee (God shed His grace on thee)

 

 Now if you feel a little pride welling up inside of you, if you feel a

 little mist in your eye, then, thank God for you, mister, you're still an

 American!

 

 (America, America,

 God shed His grace on thee

 And crown thy good with brotherhood

 From sea to shining sea)

 

 Transcribed by Little John.

 These lyrics were transcribed from the specific recording referenced

 above, and are for personal use and research interest only.