Charleston

I woke up yesterday and heard the news about the boy in Carolina
How he stayed for the whole Bible study and then brandished a gun
And he killed everybody there except for one
To leave a witness to recount the awful reasons for the bloody thing he'd done

There's a part of my hometown that I was taught to never hang around in grade school
I learned to draw conclusions from a glance upon a face
How could I call him an isolated case?
How could you say we've abolished all the hatred so embedded in our race?

And there's a pale moon over Charleston tonight
It's the same one that shone 200 years ago, and we're still living in its light
I know I barely understand, and I know my skin is white
But my father once told me that the guy
Who says that he's just standing by
Is no better than the one who starts the fight

There's a hunger in the heartland, and a rich man's war upon the poor is raging
The politician promises a change that never comes
And warns the white man of the plot to take his crumbs
And stokes an ancient bitter hatred as the hope we had just slackens and succumbs

There's a darker side of history, we pretend it's been forgiven or forgotten
All the lies told to divide us by the color of our skin
Have built the brutal empire we're still living in
We must pierce the myth's illusions, and only then can we pay penance for our sins

I saw a red flag on a pickup truck tonight
It's the same that flew 150 years ago, and we're still fighting the same fight
I know I barely understand and I know my skin is white
But my father once told me that the guy
That never questions how or why
Can't see the gap between what's wrong and right