Here’s to the state of
D Bm A
1. Here's to the state of
D C
for underneath her borders,
the devil draws no lines.
D
C
If you drag her muddy rivers,
nameless bodies you will find.
D
C
whoa, the fat trees of the
forest have hid a thousand crimes,
D Bm Em A
the calender
is lyin' when it reads the present time.
D Bm
G D
Whoa, here's to the land
you've torn out the heart of,
Bm
A D
D Bm
A
2. And here's to the people of
D C
who say the folks up north,
they just don't understand.
D
C
And they tremble in their
shadows at the thunder of the Klan,
D C
the sweating of their souls
can't wash the blood from off their hands,
D Bm
Em A
they smile and shrug their
shoulders at the murder of a man.
D Bm
G D
Whoa, here's to the land
you've torn out the heart of,
Bm
A D
D Bm A
3. And here's to the schools of
D C
where they're teaching all the
children that they don't have to care,
D C
all the rudiments of hatred
are present everywhere,
D C
and every single classroom is
a factory of despair,
D Bm Em A
and there's nobody learning
such a foreign word as “fair”.
D Bm
G D
Whoa, here's to the land
you've torn out the heart of,
Bm
A D
D Bm A
4. And here's to the cops of
D C
they're chewing their tobacco
as they lock the prison door,
D C
their bellies bounce inside
them when they knock you to the floor,
D C
no, they don't like taking
prisoners in their private little war,
D Bm Em A
and behind their broken badges
there are murderers and more.
D Bm
G D
Whoa, here's to the land
you've torn out the heart of,
Bm A D
D Bm A
5. And, here's to the judges of
D C
who wear the robe of honor as they crawl into the court,
D C
they're guarding all the
bastions of their phony legal fort,
D C
oh, justice is a stranger when the prisoners
report,
D Bm Em A
when the black man stands
accused the trial is always short.
D Bm G D
Whoa, here's to the land
you've torn out the heart of,
Bm
A D
D Bm A
6. And here's to the government of
D C
in the swamp of their
bureaucracy they're always bogging down,
D C
and criminals are posing as
the mayors of the towns,
D
and they hope that no one sees
the sights,
C
and no one hears the sounds,
D
Bm Em A
and the speeches of the
governor are the ravings of a clown.
D Bm
G D
Whoa, here's to the land
you've torn out the heart of,
Bm
A D
D Bm A
7. And here's to the laws of
D C
Congressmen will gather in a
circus of delay,
D C
while the Constitution’s
drowning in an ocean of decay,
D C
unwed mothers should be sterilized, I've even heard them say,
D Bm Em A
yes, corruption can be classic
in the
D Bm
G D
Whoa, here's to the land
you've torn out the heart of,
Bm
A D
D Bm A
8. And here's to the churches of
D
C
where the cross, once made of
silver, now is caked with rust,
D C
and the Sunday morning sermons
pander to their lust,
D C
the fallen face of Jesus is
choking in the dust,
D Bm Em A
and heaven only knows in which
God they can trust.
D Bm
G D
Whoa, here's to the land
you've torn out the heart of,
Bm
A D
(capo 4th) (Phil Ochs)