What Made America Famous

Harry Chapin

It was the town that made America famous The churches full and the kids gone to hell Six traffic lights, and seven cops And all the streets kept clean The supermarket and the drug store and the bars all doin' well Now they were the folks that made America famous Our local fire department stocked with short-haired volunteers And on Saturday night, while America boozes The fire department showed dirty movies The lawyer and the grocer seein' their dreams come to life on the movie screen While the plumber hopes that he won't be seen, as he tries to hide his fears And he wipes away his tears But somethin's burinin' somewhere DOES ANYBODY CARE? We were the kids that made America famous The kind of kids that long since drove our parents to despair We were lazy long-hairs droppin' out Lost, confused, and coppin' out Convinced our futures were in doubt And tryin' not to care We lived in the house that made America famous It was a run-down slum, the shame of all the decent folks in town We're hippies and some welfare cases Crowded families of cold, black faces Cramped inside some cracked old boards The best that we all could afford But still too fine for the rich landlord to ever tear it down And we could hear the sound Of somethin' burnin' somewhere IS ANYBODY THERE? We all lived the life that made America famous Our cops would make a point to shadow us around our town And we love children put a swastika on the bright red firehouse door America, the beautiful, it makes a body proud And then came the night that made America famous Was it carelessness or someone's sick idea of a joke? In the tinder-box trap we hippies lived in someone struck a spark At first I thought that I was dreamin' Then I saw the first flames gleamin' And heard the sound of children screamin' Comin' through the smoke And somethin's burnin' somewhere DOES ANYBODY CARE? Oh, it was the fire that made America famous The sirens wailed and the firemen stumbled sleepin' from their homes And when the plumber yelled, "C'mon, let's go!" They saw what was burnin' and said, "Take it slow" "Let 'em sweat a little" "They'll never know" "And besides, we just cleaned the chrome" N.C. Said the plumber, "Then I'm goin' alone" Well he rolled on up in the fire truck And raised the ladder to the ledge While me and my girl and a couple of kids were clinging like bats to the edge We staggered to salvation Collapsed on the street And I never thought that a fat man's face Would ever look so sweet I shook his hand in the scene that made America famous And he smiled from the heart that made America great We spent the rest of that night in the home of this man that we'd never known before It's funny; when you get that close, it's kind of hard to hate I went to sleep with the hope that made America famous I had the kind of a dream that maybe they're still trying to teach in school O' the America that made America famous And of the people who just might understand That how together, yes we can Create a country better than The one we have made of this land We have the choice To make each man Who dares to dream Reachin' out his hand A prophet or just a crazy damn dreamer or a fraud Yes, a crazy fraud and somethin's burnin' somewhere DOES ANYBODY CARE? IS ANYBODY THERE? IS ANYBODY THERE????? --=====================_799366769==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX I vvv XX ...sent with love from: XX XX juggle, |. .| XX [email protected] XX XX therefore ( v ) XX (401)863-5276 XX XX I am. \-/ XX (201)927-XXXX XX XX __o__ XX XX XX I / o \ XX "mashed potatoes can be XX XX juggle | ^o || XX your friend" XX XX here three, -W // XX -"Weird Al" Yankovic XX XX I am. |___W_| XX XX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX --=====================_799366769==_--

Watch the song video
Top songs from Harry Chapin
Playground Sessions Course Banner
Did you ever dreamed on playing piano?

Playground Sessions is a revolutionary new way to learn music and play the piano. No more boring courses. The adaptive videos automatically adjust to your skill level. Plus, you’ll receive regular feedback on your progress each week, plus a personal training plan from a professional piano teacher.

Start to play the piano instantly - and have fun doing it!