The Turning Ground

The sun beats down on the cracked blacktop The mercury's climbing and it just won't stop From the coast of Maine to the Midwest plains Folks hide inside and pray for rains The air is thick with what's to come Beneath the sound of a steady hum A nation holds its weary breath And talks of life and talks of death Oh, the headlines roll like a coming train A little bit of sun, a whole lotta rain I've seen this story, I know this tune Underneath this same old worried moon The wheel keeps turning, the dust gets stirred And I'm just here to pass the word Down in the city of marble and stone

Nine judges argued, each on their throne 'Bout a piece of plastic, a spring, a slide That makes a rifle's hammer ride They read the letters of the law so cold A story written in days of old And ruled it's not what the words imply While the winds of change just pass on by Oh, the headlines roll like a coming train A little bit of sun, a whole lotta rain I've seen this story, I know this tune Underneath this same old worried moon The wheel keeps turning, the dust gets stirred And I'm just here to pass the word And soon two old men will take a stage To fight their war on a single page

With silent mics and a hopeful plea For the soul of the land of the brave and free One says the past was a golden time The other warns of a future crime And the people watch with tired eyes Searching for truth among the lies Oh, the headlines roll like a coming train A little bit of sun, a whole lotta rain I've seen this story, I know this tune Underneath this same old worried moon The wheel keeps turning, the dust gets stirred And I'm just here to pass the word