My father told me "Son, it's futile to resist You can topple ideologies but not the armies they enlist" I questioned the intentions of the boy scouts chanting war "Well, that's the sound of freedom, son," he said, "free to say no more" But wait a minute, Dad Did you actually say freedom? Well, if you're dumb enough to vote You're f**ing dumb enough to believe 'em 'Cause if this country is so goddamn free Then I can burn your f**ing flag wherever I damn well please And then I'm gonna stick it up your f**ing a**! I carried their anthem, convinced it was mine Rhyme-less, unreasoned conjecture kept me in line But then I stood back and wondered, what the f** had they done to me? Made accomplice to all that I'd promised I would never f**ing be Never be You carry their anthem convinced that it's yours Invitation to honor, invitation to war Bette Midler now a**umes sainthood, romanticize murder for morale Tie a yellow ribbon round the oak tree my friend and "Gee Wally, that's swell" f** the troops to hell