Ballad For Americans
Composer(s): Earl Robinson - John LaTouche
Performer(s): Paul Robeson; Earl Robinson



In seventy-six the sky was red
thunder rumbling overhead
Bad King George couldn't sleep in his bed
And on that stormy morn, Ol' Uncle Sam was born
Some birthday!
Ol' Sam put on a three cornered hat
And in a Richmond church he sat
And Patrick Henry told him that while America drew breath
It was "Liberty or death"
What kind of hat is a three-cornered hat?
Did they all believe in liberty in those days?
Nobody who was anybody believed it
Ev'rybody who was anybody they doubted it
Nobody had faith
Nobody but Washington, Tom Paine, Benjamin Franklin
Chaim Solomon, Crispus Attucks, Lafayette
Nobodies
The nobodies ran a trea party at Boston
Betsy Ross organized a sewing circle
Paul Revere had a horse race
And a little ragged group believed it
And some gentlemen and ladies believed it
And some wise men and some fools, and I believed it too
And you know who I am
No
Who are you mister?
Yeah, how come all this?
Well, I'll tell you
It's like this...
No let us tell you
Mister Tom Jefferson, a mighty fine man
He wrote it down in a mighty fine plan
And the rest all signed it with a mighty fine hand
As they crossed thier T's and dotted their I's
A bran' new country did arise
And a mighty fine idea
"Adopted unanimously in Congress July 4, 1776
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal
That they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights
That among these rights are
Life, Yes sir!
Liberty, That's right!
And the pursuit of happiness"
Is that what they said?
The very words
That does sound mighty fine
Building a nation is awful tough
The people found the going rough
Still nobody who was anybody believed it
Everybody who anybody they stayed at home
But Lewis and Clarke and the pioneers
Driven by hunger, haunted by fears
The Klondike miners and the forty niners
Some wanted freedom and some wanted riches
Some liked to loaf while others dug ditches
But they believed it
And I believed it too
And you know who I am
No, who are you anyway, Mister?
Well, you see it's like this
I started to tell you
I represent the whole...
Why that's it!
Let my people go
That's the idea!
Old Abe Lincoln was thin and long
His heart was high and his faith was strong
But he hated oppression, he hated wrong
And he went down to his grave to free the slave
A man in white skin can never be free while his black brother is in slavery
"And we here highly resolve that these dead shall not haave died in vain
And this government of the people, by the people and for the people
Shall not perish from the Earth"
Abraham Lincoln said that on November 19, 1863 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
And he was right
I believe that too
Say, we still don't know who you are, mister
Well, I started to tell you...
The machine age came with a great big roar
As America grew in peace and war
And a million wheels went around and 'round
The cities reached into the sky
And dug down deep into the ground
And some got rich and some got poor
But the people carried through
So our country grew
Still nobody who was anybody believed it
Everybody who was anybody they doubted it
And they are doubting still
And I guess they always will
But who cares what they say whem I am on my way
Say, will you please tell us who you are?
What's your name, Buddy?
Where you goin'?
Who are you?
Well, I'm the everybody who's nobody
I'm the nobody who's everybody
What's your racket?
What do you do for a living?
Well, I'm an
Engineer, musician, street cleaner, carpenter, teacher
How about a farmer?
Also
Office clerk?
Yes sir!
That's right
Certainly!
Factory worker?
You said it
Yes ma'am
Absotively!
Posolutely!
Truck driver?
Definitely!
Miner, seamstress, ditchdigger, all of them
I am the "etceteras" and the "and so forths" that do the work
Now hold on here, what are you trying to give us?
Are you an American?
Am I an American?
I'm just an Irish, Jewish, Italian
French and English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Polish
Scotch, Hungarian, Swedish, Finnish, Greek and Turk and Czech
And that ain't all
I was baptized Baptist, Methodist, Congregationalist, Luthern,
Atheist, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Presbyterian, Seventh Day Adventist
Mormon, Quaker, Christian Scientist and lots more
You sure are something
Our country's strong, our country's young
And her greatest songs are still unsung
From her plains and mountains we have sprung
To keep the faith with those who went before
We nobodies who are anybody believe it
We anybodies who are everybody have no doubts
Out of the cheating, out of the shouting
Deep as our valleys
High as our mountains
Strong as the people who made it
For I have always believed it, and I believe it now
And now you know who I am
Who are you?
America! America!