I heard you sing a rebel song,
sung it loud and all alone
We can't afford the things you save,
we can't afford the warranty
I see you walking in the glare
down the county road we share
Our southern blood, my heresy,
damn that ol' confederacy

It took a long time to
become the thing I am to you
And you won't tear it apart
without a fight, without a heart

I'm sorry for what you have learned,
when you feel the tables turn
To run so hard in your race,
now you find who set the pace
The landed aristocracy
exploiting all your enmity
All your daddies fought in vain,
leave you with the mark of Cain

It took a long time to
become the thing I am to you
And you won't tear it apart
without a fight, without a heart
It took a long time to
become you, become you

The center holds, so they say
It never held too well for me
I won't stop short for common ground
that vilifies the trodden down
The center held the bonded slave
for the sake of industry
The center held the bloody hand
of the executioner man

It took a long time to
become the thing I am to you
And you won't tear it apart
without a fight, without a heart
It took a long time to
become you, become you