America

I wanted to be young forever, so the story told
I really just wanted to know you before I got old
I wanted to forget about the premise of this game
To know that you are much more than a northern country's name

If I could write a motorcycle diary, that would do
To speed along your coastline with a trusted friend or two
I'd cradle myself in your breast, i'd wake up feeling your rain
I'd live breathing your nightlife to find my fortune and fame

I wanted to be young and wash my days with Chilean wine
To get to see what untold wonders lie along your spine
To learn about your tongues and jungles, drift along your sea
To converse with forgotten poets in your summer breeze

Your tale is one of rivers for people who never swam
Of Jesus statues taking breath away from atheist men
Of ponderous contradictions from a north who snores outloud
While earnest Disney pictures brave the old mysterious south

My lonesome forced detachment is my way to tell it true
That's why I sing in English even when I sing of you
Who's Latin even when you're white
Who's darker yet when you are bright
Who exhales songs of joy while always strumming chords of plight

I wanted to be young forever, so the story told
I wanted to take you away from days of sunny cold
I wanted you to move from the last wagons of this train
And I wanted you to make me proud of uttering your name
America