cherokee rose

pinestraw on the ground around a fallen cherokee rose

it's got me wonderin' why those mighty winds of change must blow

once this land was free from fences and shotguns

back when the people killed here for food instead of fun

when the earth was sanctified

cherished in the red-man's eyes

before the cherokee rose

the cherokee rose

the cherokee rose

my boots sink down into the soft red georgia clay

bought with their blood

this land here never was ours to take away

disheartened souls unjustly driven from their homes

many died along the way

now we build our houses upon their bones

after all these years

i can see the trail of tears

damn this cherokee rose

oh the cherokee rose

the cherokee rose

oh they call us the land of the free

and the home of the brave

but i don't hear much

about the injustice that we've done along the way

we try to black it out

never think about

the price they had to pay

we never cry for what was lost

shed a tear for the heavy cost

of what we call freedom"