The American Way

David Rovics

John Kerry kept on putting his foot in his mouth the other day, so I thought I’d help him out in making his case regarding the situation in Ukraine.

Lyrics:

Yanukovich is corrupt, he’s a billionaire
His money’s in Swiss banks, it’s just unfair
It may be halfway around the world but we’re very concerned
All this corruption about which we’ve learned
When it comes to corruption, we’re just so green
Just don’t mention the Shah or the Philippines
Don’t mention the lobbyists or the shades of grey
That’s not the American Way That’s not the American Way (2x)
Don’t mention the lobbyists or the shades of grey
That’s not the American Way

It’s not the American Way and neither are the riot cops
Sent to crush the protesters who want the corruption to stop
We’d never prop up kleptocrats with billions in loans
Or back up police states who kill kids for throwing stones
We wouldn’t get involved, it’s just not our place
It doesn’t matter if they’re renting us a military base
Unlike those damn Russians, that’s not the way we play
That’s not the American Way

That’s not the American Way, it goes against our creed
And we’d never get involved if someone wanted to secede
We wouldn’t get involved, we’d just stay out of the debate
‘Cause we respect the borders of every sovereign state
We respect elections, whichever way they go
Just don’t mention Daniel Ortega or the state of Kosovo
Unlike Russia we would never jump into the fray
That’s not the American Way

That’s not the American Way and neither is the use of force
We would never mass our soldiers on someone’s borders of course
We’d never mass our soldiers or rehearse war games
Or at least when we do it it’s just not the same
It’s just not the same ’cause we always have good reason
Like defending threatened American students or finding Weapons of Mass Destruction
Us? Act like the Russians? That’ll be the day! That’s not the American Way