American Remains

I am a shotgun rider for the San Jacinto line The desert is my brother, my skin is cracked and dry I was riding on a folk coach and everything was fine 'Til we took a shorter road to save some time The bandits only fired once, they shot me in the chest They may have wounded me but they'll never get the best Of better men cause I'll ride again I am a river gambler, I make a livin' dealin' cards My clothes are smooth and honest, my heart is cold and hard I was shufflin' for some delta boys on a boat for New Orleans I was the greatest shark they'd ever seen But the Captain bumped a sandbar, and an ace fell from my sleeve They threw me overboard as I swore I didn't cheat But I could swim and I'll ride again. We are heroes of the homeland, American remains We live in many faces and answer many names We will not be forgotten, we won't be left behind Our memories live on in mortal minds And poets pens we'll ride again I am a mid-west farmer, I make a livin' off the land I ride a John Deere tractor, I'm a liberated man But the rain it hasn't fallen, since the middle of July And if it don't come soon my crops will die The bank man says he likes me, but there's nothin' he can do He tells me that he's comin' but the clouds are comin' too He ain't my friend and I'll ride again I am an American Indian, my tribe is Cherokee My forefathers loved this land they left it here for me But the white man came with boats and trains and dirty factories And poisoned my existence with his deeds Nature is our mother, we are sucklings at her breast And he who trys to beat her down will lose her to the rest They'll never win I'll ride again Chorus