And the river of hate begins as a stream
Of fear that flows from the soul
And it poisons the mind, and it hardens the heart
Til the hatred and fear take control
But with stones of love and planks of trust and steel as strong as faith,
We can build a bridge to reach the other shore
And then cross the bridge hand in hand reunited with our fellow man
And end the hate and fear forevermore.
Home here in America, there’s hatred flowing through our towns
Where kids grow up in gangs of black and white
And children on the sidewalk are shot down by strangers driving by,
And good people fear to leave their homes at night
And the Anglo’s fear Hispanics and the teachers fear the students;
At work there’s no trust between the women and the men.
And the gay folk fear the rednecks, and the rednecks fear the FBI
Will we ever be the United States again?
And the river of hate begins as a stream
Of fear that flows from the soul
And it poisons the mind, and it hardens the heart
Til the hatred and fear take control
But with stones of love and planks of trust and steel as strong as faith,
We can build a bridge to reach the other shore
And then cross the bridge hand in hand reunited with our fellow man
And end the hate and fear forevermore
© 1996 WingingIt