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I remember when this was a two paper town
A big company came in and shut one of them down
Now all that we get is one point of view
And it don't really matter which side you're on
Nobody wins when our choices are gone
Both sides of a story often lead to the truth
Well maybe I'm crazy maybe it's no big deal
It's just my opinion it's just how I feel
I dream of a world that's not all the same
Where freedom is more than a word that we say
Where you say what you think and no one would dare put you down
I dream of a world that's a two paper town
I used to eat lunch at a small sandwich shop
Now there's a neon chain across that parking lot
They said we could have it our way so that's what we did
There's a superstore out by the interstate
I get my shirts and my tires and my eggs in one place
I guess it's convenient it is what it is
We save a few dollars but what is the cost
If they don't know your name seems like something is lost
I dream of a world that's not all the same
Where a man with a vision can still find a way
Where the little guy says to the big boys you can't shut me down
I dream of a world that's a two paper town
Somewhere in the third world a man drinks the same soda as me
Funny we're further than ever from mankind living in peace
I dream of a world where though we're not all the same
Freedom is more than a word that we say
Where you can say what you think and no one would dare put you down
I dream of a world that's a two paper town
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Troubled teenage runaway
Greyhound station, rainy day
She's gonna make her parents pay
For that hole she can't fill up
Left behind a trail of tears
Feelin' old beyond her years
Pride and anger brought her here
Left her starvin' for love
In her mind she's mixin' up
Three parts regret, two cups of sorrow
A tablespoon of guilt with the bitter taste of shame
She's leavin' out forgiveness and hope for tomorrow
Throwin' in a dash of fear and a pinch or two of blame
That's a recipe for insanity
Mom and dad glued to the telephone
Ten months of wonderin' where they went wrong
You reach a point where life goes on
Still they're not givin' up
Chicken pot pie is his favorite dish
Mom's standin' in the kitchen fixin' it
There's something else she'd rather fix
There's no end to a mother's love
In her mind she's mixin' up
Three parts regret, two cups of sorrow
A tablespoon of guilt with the bitter taste of shame
She's leavin' out forgiveness and hope for tomorrow
Throwin' in a dash of fear and a pinch or two of blame
That's a recipe for insanity
One night the phone rings two am
She says can I come home again
You just tell us where and when
And baby we'll come pick you up
Yeah they got some patchin' up to do
They're about to face some painful truth
But something tells me they'll make it through
With the helping hands of love
They'll be mixing up
Three parts joy, two cups of understanding
A tablespoon of tenderness with the sweet taste of trust
They'll throw in some forgiveness and hope for tomorrow
Tears will turn to laughter and all blame will turn to dust
That's a remedy for insanity
That's a recipe, more or less, for happiness
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It's hard to read the paper these days
It's tough to watch the news
This country looks like a different place than the one I thought I
knew
'Tween the bottom line and corporate greed
The loss of civil liberties
The rising cost of everything
So many cast aside
It's like the dream has died
In my America everybody would be free
In my America nobody would ever go hungry, have to fight for a little
peace
Or wake up shivering on a slab of cold concrete. In my America
They sell fear on the radio
Sex and violence on TV
We just watch and listen till it's what we think we need
Now everything's disposable
From plastic to people
It's gonna take a miracle
To save us from ourselves
Can you hear the warning bell
In my America in the name of our children's children
We'd be colorin' our lives green
Recycling love and kindness using way less gasoline
In my America
Could my America be your America could your America be
my America everybody would be free
There'd be a choir for every voice
There'd be a door for every wall
You could worship any God you want or no God at all
There'd be a lot more conversation
We'd be way less polarized
We'd replace this hate and anger with hope and love and compromise
In my America
In my America
In my America
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Beneath the smile of a Manhattan moon
They met while dancin' to a Sinatra tune
He held her tight, then they took a ride
In a horse drawn carriage
Now she's 83 and he's 85
And after 60 years of marriage
They hold hands and they kiss
When they're apart they miss each other
They made plans, it's like this
Together they'll always be
Sure looks like love to me
A Nebraska high school, 1988
He couldn't find the courage to ask her for a date
Then she left town and he settled down
Gotta hand it to our creator
Cause here they are, together now
Two divorces and five kids later
REPEAT CHORUS
You never know who your soul mate might be
She still hasn't met her fiancé's folks
They don't bless this union, they're not even gonna go
Still on June 1st at a little church
They'll be joined in matrimony
In God's eyes they'll be recognized
If for this reason only
REPEAT CHORUS
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As a friend I have to tell you
It's killin' me to watch you kill yourself
As a friend I know you well enough
To know you're too proud to ask for help
Still I'm here, I'm here as a friend
When we were kids we were like brothers
Nobody's fault, we just drifted apart
Remember that pledge, if one of us was in trouble
I guess you could say I took those words to heart
That's why I'm here, I'm here as a friend
CHORUS
As a friend I will not turn my back on you
But I will not back down from the God's honest truth
You have a problem and it's not gonna end
Till you put down that bottle and start livin' life again
You can love me you can hate me but I came here and I'll leave here
as a friend
You keep sayin' that's it's over, you've already lost it all
Well I'm here to tell you that could change with one phone call
There's a meeting just down the street
It's the one I go to three times a week
REPEAT CHORUS
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There I am sittin' on my grandma's steps
Wonderin' what trouble I could get in next
A freckle-faced kid with a snow cone smile
Not a worry in the world
Would you look at my mom in that big yellow hat
What was she thinkin' wearin' somethin' like that
I still remember her tryin' to fix my hair
Like I was her little girl
CHORUS
A simple photograph
A memory in black and white
That always makes me laugh or makes me cry
An eight by ten reminder
That time is such a precious thing
That life is always movin' us along
And love is all that matters when we're gone
A year after that was taken we pulled up roots
Had to leave behind the only world I knew
Me with my little nose pressed against the glass
As our rambler rolled away
I called my grandma every Sunday night
Made those nine hundred miles almost seem all right
She'd say, "I'll see ya next summer, I can hardly wait"
But that summer never came
REPEAT CHORUS
I've been starin' at this picture for fifteen minutes
Wonderin' what happened to that little boy in it
The freckle-faced kid with the snow cone smile
Not a worry in the world
Now I'm late for a meeting that started at eight
Gonna pick up the phone and tell 'em not to wait
Gonna run upstairs and put my arms around
My wife and my little girl
REPEAT CHORUS
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STEVE SESKIN
ALLEN SHAMBLIN
Black boy white boy fightin' in the school yard
Their silent rage has come to a head
One said somethin' 'bout the color of the other
Now both of those boys are bleedin' red
Go back in time ten years ago
Two newborn babies as sweet as can be
You can blame the parents you can blame the school
I don't have the answer but it occurs to me
CHORUS:
Somebody taught 'em to throw those stones
Somebody hardened their hearts
Those little angels had no hate in their bones
Somebody taught 'em to throw those stones
Husband and wife standin' in the kitchen
Carryin' on a war of words
Kids at the table starin' at their plates
Tryin' to ignore what they just heard
Go back in time to mom and dad's upbringing
And it's no surprise how they communicate
It's a circle of sorrow it's a vicious cycle
We learn by example and then we imitate
Somebody taught 'em to throw those stones
Somebody hardened their hearts
They didn't grow up in a home sweet home
Somebody taught 'em to throw those stones
BRIDGE:
It's gonna take fathers and mothers
Sisters and brothers
And a whole lotta help from above
Callin' all teachers and preachers
And all of our heroes
To teach our children to love
Somebody taught 'em to throw those stones
Somebody hardened their hearts
Guess all I can do is start with my own
Somebody taught 'em to throw those stones
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Every morning he wakes up to the sound of bombs in the sky
Waiting it out in a bunker he wonders if he's gonna get out alive
He signed up for the National Guard and we ended up in a war
Now he's doing his duty servin' his country and he'll never question
what for
He feels so alone
Every morning she wakes up to three kids and a job she just got
Should she pay the phone bill, the visa, the mastercard, the questions
never stop
Like why did our daddy have to leave us, when will he be comin'
back
She gives them a hug instead of an answer cause she can't answer
that
She feels so alone
He's fightin' a war over there, she's fightin' a war at home
Every night he writes her a letter, reads one she's written to
him
He kisses the envelope, thinks what a struggle this is for both
of them
Every night she stares at his picture, sleeps on his side of the
bed
Hopin' that knock on the door never comes, hopin' that in the end
She won't be alone
He's fightin' a war over there she's fightin' a war at home
He grew up thinking killin' is wrong, said he'd never fire a gun
She stares at the sky, she never thought
She'd be prayin' he knows how to use one
Today he had a close call took some shrapnel in his leg
For a month he's tradin' the battlefield for a hospital bed
It's 2 am, the telephone rings, she whispers please let it be him
He says hello, and just for a moment there's peace for both of them
They don't feel so alone
He's fightin' a war over there she's fightin' a war at home
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I hear one in five high school kids can hardly read or write
Forty years after the march on Selma there's still walls 'tween blacks
and whites
In the richest nation on this earth, people go to bed hungry at night
Whatever, there's a part of me that says
Whatever
There's a hole in the ozone as big as Tennessee
The rivers are polluted, fish are full of mercury
And mother nature's cryin', don't cut down another tree
Whatever, you hear it everyday
Whatever, maybe it's time to say
Whatever it takes there's so much at stake
We've gotta find a way to work together
Despite our different points of view
The enemy is apathy
Hey I'm rollin' up my sleeves
Whatever it takes I'll Do
Theres liberals and conservatives and everything in between
democrats and republicans and no one's nose is clean
And half of us don't even vote in the land of the free
Whatever, is getting' us nowhere
Whatever, it's not too late to care
Whatever it takes there's so much at stake
We've gotta find a way to work together
Despite our different points of view
The enemy is apathy
Hey I'm rollin' up my sleeves
I'm gonna dig me a ditch and put all my fear and prejudice in it
I'm gonna open my mind, open my heart and let love lead me
Whatever it takes there's so much at stake
We've gotta find a way to work together
Despite our different points of view
The enemy is apathy
Hey I'm rollin' up my sleeves
Whatever it takes I'll do
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She gets there every morning
An hour before the bell
Puts a problem on the blackboard
And a dozen words to spell
For twenty years and counting
She's been trying change the world
One kid at a time
And to all those boys and girls
CHORUS
She's/she's an everyday hero
Won't make the history books
We barely give 'em a second look
But she does it anyway
Ordinary people
Who can't seem to do enough
Do it all in the name of love
With a quiet grace
Everyday heroes are heroes every day
He works up at the center
He's a weekend volunteer
Answerin' the hotline
Always there to lend an ear
Most of us, God willing,
Won't ever have to call
But to all those souls in trouble
With their backs against the wall
REPEAT CHORUS
Take the keys from a friend who's drinking
Read a story to a kid
Call your mom and tell her you love her
You'll be glad you did
Be an everyday hero
You won't make the history books
You won't get a second look
But do it anyway
Ordinary people
Can't seem to do enough
Do it all in the name of love
With a quiet grace
Everyday heroes are heroes every day
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So life hit me when I wasn't lookin'
So it dealt me a hard hand to play
I felt betrayed and forsaken
But I've been makin' the wrong people pay
I'm done I'm done
I've spent my last night in that prison
Where anger and pride were the bars
Hey I'm here to tell you I'm makin' peace with the past
And I'm not ashamed of my scars
But I'm done
CHORUS
I'm done harboring grudges and nursing old wounds
Done clinging to crutches and singin' the blues
I'm done pointing fingers at everyone else
I'm taking a long hard look at myself
A new day has begun
I'm done
I called up somebody who'd hurt me
And we finally settled that score
I had a right to be bitter revenge would've been sweet
But forgiveness is what ended that war
I'm starting to see the big picture
These days I'm getting' high off of that
No more killing my pain with a 3 day binge
That train has run outta track
I'm done
REPEAT CHORUS
I'm spending more time with the people I love
The ones who will cry at my funeral
I'm done feeling hopeless no I'm not goin' there
I'm greeting each morning with a smile and a prayer
A new day has begun a new day has begun a new day has begun
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Dear David's dad
He asked me to help him write you this letter
To tell you he's train' hard not to be sad
But he misses you so much when you're away
He seems to understand
That in your line of work you have to travel
Still he seems kind of quiet and keeps to himself
But it's nothing to worry about, he'll be ok
And, oh he wants you to know
This morning at recess he hurt his finger
That his hamster got loose and he doesn't like girls
And he'll finish his numbers by the end of the day
And you should be proud of your little man
In case you didn't know it, he's your biggest fan
Along with this note
I'm sending a picture he drew you last Friday
The two figures together are him and your wife
And that's you in the distance standing alone
Well, the bell just rang
It's time to take all the kids out to the playground
When you get back I'd sure like to meet you
By the way, I'm the new kindergarten teacher
And there's just one more thing he wants me to say
Daddy, hurry home
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Another 12 hour day working as a seamstress in Montgomery
She climbed aboard a bus
There was nobody sitting there when she took that seat
Said I'm not getting up
An ordinary act of courage that sparked a revolution
She wasn't trying to be a problem just part of a solution
She was one drop of water in an ocean of hope
One voice of reason who finally spoke
If we're ever gonna get along if peace is our desire
We're never gonna get there fightin' fire with fire
She was one drop of water
One drop of water
He called himself a common man not a hero not a saint
He knew war just leads to war
He fought for freedom the nonviolent way
A cause worth dying for
He believed that we can change the world with quiet dignity
Hundreds grew to thousands when he marched down to the sea
He was one drop of water in an ocean of hope
One voice of reason who finally spoke
If we're ever gonna get along if peace is our desire
We're never gonna get there fightin' fire with fire
He was one drop of water
One drop of water
You can wage a war with words or weapons
Pray for peace or make it happen
I wanna be one drop of water in an ocean of hope
One voice of reason who finally spoke
If we're ever gonna get along if peace is our desire
We're never gonna get there fightin' fire with fire
I wanna be one drop of water
Let me be one drop of water
I'm gonna be one drop of water
In an ocean of hope
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I used to worship the almighty dollar
I thought it would fill this hole in me and I'd be satisfied
I was a thirsty man dying for water
Drinkin' from a well that always left me dry
CHORUS
I'm lookin' for something I can really sink my teeth into
Something that shakes my soul and makes me really feel
Yeah what I'm lookin' for
All I want anymore
Is something deep, something ancient, something righteous
Something real
I'm tired of all the shallow conversations
Meaningless noise in a fast food world
Where's the heart and the true inspiration
I won't stand for mediocrity or artificial pearls
REPEAT CHORUS
BRIDGE
It all comes down to love
For yourself, for your family and your friends
By the grace of God above
Let's get down to the things that matter
REPEAT CHORUS
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