Tim Mcilrath - What Are We Gonna Do? lyrics

What are we gonna do? Said the hungry child to a father with empty hands What are we gonna do? When the smoke clears And reveals no promise land What are we gonna do? I don't know, it's a long long way to go. What are we gonna do? Splashed? across the table like a pile of fallen leaves She stares down at unpaid bills then up at him And unaware the journey that his father made for him But when the man asked for his papers You replied with empty hands And from the graves we dig for dreams, not realize Do you hear these muffled cries? What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? And who is going to answer for our sins Could it be you? Or me When they left our fingerprints What are we gonna do? I don't know, it's a long, long way to go What are we gonna do? Somewhere in the spaces of a 9 round magazine The cowards pull the triggers at the seam And the apple of our eyes cannot survive these sharpened teeth Like Abraham and Isaac We will sacrifice and like it And when the sun sets We will wait here patiently We fall sleep but we don't dream What are we gonna do? Said the lion to the lamb As they drew lines in the sand Said the trees to the man When there were no seeds left to plant Said the widow to the grave As her roses fade away Said the hills to the sky As they kissed our last goodbye Said the worker to the chief Acts like a boss, more like a thief Said the ocean to the shore As the tides grow more and more Said the soldier to the priest What is it that I should believe? Said the desert to the rain When will you visit us again? How do we explain To children dancing in the rain What are we gonna do?