Can’t Afford To Get Sick

Mercy lives in Tent Town
along the waterway
she has just enough to wrap around
and keep the world away

bussing into downtown
she wears a woolen coat
she makes just enough for food or rent
but not enough for both

sellin’ papers under cover
when the rain gets slick
she’s an American girl
she can’t afford to get sick

Mister B is older than
the building that he lives in
watchin’ out the window
to see the boats come in

he says that life is like a card game
when the dealin’ gets tricked
he’s an American man
he can’t afford to get sick

here in the greatest country in the world
how can such a thing be true
they love you when you got a lot of money
when you don’t they don’t want to know you

American family
there at the end of the trail
everything is in boxes
the house is for sale

American family
maybe somebody you know
when the rug gets pulled
and there’s nowhere to go

the kids need shoes
they grow up so quick
they’re an American family
they can’t afford to get sick

here in the greatest country on the planet
it gets right down to the bone
they can tell everybody else what to do
but they can’t take care of their own

things got a little better
when Obama came in
gonna have to get a whole lot
better again

we’re American people
watchin’ while the sunset fades
it’s gonna get dark soon
we’re headed for a pretty steep grade

climbin’ up the mountain
way above the great divide
we’re American people
we’re gonna have to decide

climbin’ up the mountain
way up above the great divide
it’s our American future
we’re gonna have to decide