Song Description

An analogy of a sinking ship and the class structure in America.

Lyrics

The Sinking of the USS America

I was safe on the lifeboat when I jumped back overboard
I swam past the rudder, the anchor, and some floaty toy
Got back on the ship, it was lilting to the left
Reached a compartment and grabbed a life vest
Looked around to see who all was going down

The band was still playing "Superstition" by Little Stevie
The drinks were being served in the hall by the big screen TV
The gamblers were sitting drunk in their pj's
Placing their bets and tipping the DJ's
The bartenders kept serving, the ladies kept on dancing for tips
No one seemed to notice or care about the angle of the ship

I said, "Hey we're all going down
But we can all make it out if we leave right now."
But no one looked around
Or said anything

Went down to second class they were gathering up all of their gadgets
They had heard the alarms they had Tweeted, Facebooked and blabbed it
They were charging their phones and uploading pics now
Transferring them from camera to the cloud
They knew what was up but man, they were heavily distracted

I said, "Hey we're all going down
But we could still make it out if we leave right now."
But no one looked around
Or said anything

I went down to third class I found a little girl who was crying
I said, "It's going to be ok, just tell me who are your parents and we'll find them."
She said, "Last time I checked they were up to their necks
Said to go on without them and climb up to higher decks...
"Save yourself." They said, "We don't even speak the language."
Then they closed and locked the cabin door saying no one but Jesus could save them

I said, "Hey we're all going down
But we might still make it out if we leave right now."
So she looked around
She took my hand

We made it to the top but the lifeboats had already gone
Ain't that just like America to send 'em out with nobody on them
So I took her in my arms and said hold tight
And with a leap of faith we sailed into the night
The taste of saltwater filled up our noses and mouths
We turned around in time to see the big ship headed south

Yeah, The USS America in all of her glory.
Headed straight down to the bottom of the sea floor
With its Captain, its crew, and sadly most the passengers too
Just a few lifeboats hanging around no one knew what to do

I said, "Hey we can all go down
But we can still survive if we start right now."
So we tied our boats together and started to row
And when the sun was coming up we discovered a brand new shore.

Words and Music by some guy named robb
From The Folkster Album
sgnrobb.com