The Holidays Are Here (And We're Still At War) - Brett Dennen

Pilgrims in the parking lot

Arteries clogged with blood clots

Pushing through the aisles of department stores

Neon crosses and Christmas lights

Credit card debts and brand new bikes

The holidays are here and we’re still at war

The rabbi reads from the testament

The banker gazes at the year’s investments

Salvation santa’s solicit for the poor

Deception of democracy

The philanderings of faux foreign policy

The holidays are here and we’re still at war

Smoggy skies and fixed elections

Injustice strikes from all directions

People with their backs against the floor

Looking for someone to set us free

A king with fists like Mohammad Ali

The holidays are here and we’re still at war

A mother knows what is best for you

Even though it’s hard to listen

Your father knows he can count on you

Though you couldn’t count on him

Christopher Columbus knew

Vasco De Gama and Magellan too

The profits of oppression grow like never before

All hail to the captalist thief

And mourn your lost ones and covet our grief

The holidays are here and we’re still at war

Hurricane waters ravage southern towns

And black and brown people are left to drown

While the White House and the emergency management agency ignores

Victims seek shelter in the Astrodome

And the National Guard says «Don't go home»

The holidays are here and we’re still at war

Police officers hassle the homeless

Domestic disputes, alcohol and violence

The jailhouse opens wide its door

A corporation cuts a million employees

And the factory is moving overseas

The holidays are here and we’re still at war

A mother knows what is best for you

Even though it’s hard to listen

Your father knows he can count on you

Though you couldn’t count on him

Jesus sheds another tear

Into a sea of two thousand years

Into the eve of a new year once more

Tears of joy, resolutions of sorrow

Toast to health and wealth tomorrow

The holidays are here and we’re still at war

Religious wars and domination

World trade and globalization

The prices of petroleum soar

Lonesome churches are packed with sinners

Non-believers and new beginners

The holidays are here and we’re still at war

Say a prayer for the less fortunate

Prisoners and soldiers you never have met

Understand what it is they’re fighting for

Say a prayer for your enemies

Say a prayer for the victims and their families

The holidays are here and we’re still at war