Manifesto

Granddad saw the Nazis fall
In 1945, France
They went back to Germany when the prisoners were free
And made the townsfolk tour the camps

I played Amazing Grace at the First Baptist Church
On a fiddle he built from spare parts
The vets blew taps and they lowered him down
Then I broke into "Old Joe Clark"

Hell, what have I ever done?
My Grandpa fought the Nazis and won
All I do is bow bluegrass & blues
I hope you like it some

Dad could work it all, the rig, the saw
The M-16 with "The Walking Dead"
But he packed it all in for a Yellow Rose and kids
When he said "adios" to Vietnam

Between furloughs and firings and early retirement
There was meat & gravy on our plates
And no machine shop's gonna run itself
Just because your hair's all gray

Hell, what have I ever done?
My Dad fought off the Viet Cong
& All I do is bow bluegrass & blues
I hope you like it some
The calls revved up the winter of '01
I had turned 18
You could almost smell the Barbasol & Brute through the phone
As the Sergeant made his pitch to me

Dad swiped the phone, warned him to move along
A cigarette tucked in his mouth
Then he looked me in the eye and said, "Your family's done it's time"
Turned and snubbed the Pall Mall out

Well, my veins carry their blood
And they've cut this path for me to run
And what I do is bow Bluegrass & blues
I hope you like it some
& What I do is bow bluegrass & blues
I hope you like it some