"The American Divide" lyrics

1990
I was born in a mountain town outside Los Angeles
Another latchkey
Here to witness how the longest century ends
And I remember
What the old world used to feel like
'Fore we tore it all to shreds
I'm sorry, Mama
You know I love you, but the tide swept me away

Oh, won't you take me down to New Orleans?
Give me something for the pain, and I'll abide
Oh, how am I to overcome my faults
If I'm too scared to scale the walls of the great?
American divide
This American divide
This American divide
This American divide

And I was restless
Oh, I wandered my youth away
Just trying not to be here
But it's helpless
In a lost generation of my peers

Can I get an amen?
My grandpa fled the Holocaust
My daddy fought in Vietnam, and I'm here
Wasted
In the parking lot behind St. Augustine

Oh, won't you help me get back on my feet?
Comb my hair and shave my beard, and I'll abide
Oh, you know we're not that different, you and I
We're all just trying to pass the time
Until the end of this American divide
This American divide
This American divide
This American divide
This American divide
This American divide
This American divide
This American divide