Camouflaged in the red, white & blue
an American son
hear the steady rhythms of the ancients
like a primal rerun

“he was a good boy”
he turned out right
but he’s digging us deep in a bottomless pit.

He’s got big demographics -exit polls
competition zero
dropped out of high school -went to ‘Nam
he’s a superhero

media puppet institutions
daily spin of the constitution
I’m sick of it all -it ain’t goin’ away
it’s the same old song – “liberty”

All I can hear is the beating of the war drum
and it’s all drawn out
nothin’ but misery (now come on)
painting the centuries (this ain’t America)

from the pharaoh to the marrow
give me straight and narrow
this ain’t America

Politics and a run to the center
but we keep buying more

“Cry Havoc!” (for the casualties)
“and let slip the dogs of war” (that’s Shakespeare)

Eye on the past but we’re blind today
as nuclear bombs blow us all away
if we don’t wake up soon and realize
tomorrow is gone and it’s kingdom come on a gangway…

beating of the war drum
feed a hunger’s madness
breeding the battleground (from the low road)
a holy war hell bound (here comes another one)

from the crusades to our masquerades
I’m a freelance renegade
unbreakable faith now
look for the high road
this ain’t America…

All I can hear is the beating of the war drum
and it’s all drawn out
nothin’ but misery (now come on)
painting the centuries (this ain’t America)

from the pharaoh to the marrow
give me straight and narrow
hey – hear the beating of the war drum
hear it beating now?

We’re taking a beating from the war drum
humanity singing “we will overcome”

We’re taking a beating…
feed a hunger’s madness
breeding the battleground
a holy war hell bound
ALL WAR DRUM.

Ghost dance for a romance
it’s a game of chance
for the piss-ants
take a solemn stance
in your circumstance
and start a war dance…

beating of the war drum
and it’s all drawn out
breeding the battleground (now come on)
a holy war hell bound (this ain’t America)
from the pharaoh to the marrow
give me straight and narrow
come on -this ain’t America…no, no. no…