Guillermo Veloso - The American Hand lyrics

Well-worn rough This American hand Creased with soil from cotton fields and asphalt Calloused with trains, skyscrapers and baseball This hand is smooth from Molding a nation Set fire to freedom while cracking the whip Breaking black backs and raising hope with words It is fierce it is still It has torn mountains in Panama It has seen sunrise in Manila It is Berliner loved and scorned It is buried in strange and faraway places; cross and star This American hand is still young Two century teen Rambunctious, impetuous, looking to get its way Awkward in many ways This hand is still warm and ready for the weak, weary, unwashed Eager to grasp at a future Still unwritten and full of nervous energy It is reaching for stars It is swimming with quarks It is putting pen to fresh paper and writing new stories And lies upturned, open and waiting