A New Colossus

from Kentuckian by Jason Tyler Burton

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lyrics

A New Colossus

Me and Dave got off at Midnight from the local sandwich shop
I always drove him home though it wasn’t far to walk
He was a five star running back with college offers rolling in
Afraid to walk home for the color of his skin
The homecoming hero who can’t walk on the streets
Without looking over his shoulder… living in the land of the free

Well Jeff he lost his job when his daddy had the stroke
There was no one left to care that pretty soon they’d both be broke
He was a college graduate who kept staring at those bills
Deciding which to pay for: Insurance, loans, or his daddy’s pills
What kind of a choice does he have in times like these
When it’s so expensive living in the land of the free

Maria worked a double at America’s Value Inn
She was the hard working child of illegal immigrants
And all the tv screens in the rooms she cleaned said they were gonna come take her away
So she’d put her hand on the Gideon’s and oh my Lord she’d pray
What kind of a Christian folk are we
If we won’t let Maria live in the land of the free

So bring me your tired, your poor, and your weak
All our huddled masses are still sleeping in the streets
While all the guys like me we just repeat
“Ain’t it great… living in the land of the free.”

credits

from Kentuckian, released September 6, 2019

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about

Jason Tyler Burton Wyoming

Jason Tyler Burton is a recluse from Kentucky who now makes his home in the least populated county in the least populated state. There in Wyoming, at the foot of the Wind River Mountains, he writes songs that wrestle with the struggles of rural peoples. His stories often tell a novel's worth of story in the format of a song, for which he draws comparisons to Jason Isbell and John Prine. ... more

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