I heard you sing a rebel song
You sung it loud and all alone
We can't afford the things you say
We can't afford the warranty
Well, I see you walking in the glare
Down the county road we share
Our southern blood, my heresy
Damn, that old confederacy
It took a long time to
Become the thing I am to you
And you won't tear it apart
Without a fight, without a heart
I'm sorry for what you've learned
When you feel the tables turned
To run so hard in your race
And now you found who set the pace
This will landed aristocracy
Exploiting all your enmity
All your daddy's fought in vain
Leave you with the mark of cane
It took a long time to
Become the thing I am to you
And you won't tear it apart
Without a fight, without a heart
It took a long time to
Become you, become you
The center holds so they say
It never held too well for me
I won't stop short of common ground
That vilifies the trodden down, I won't stop
The center held the bonded slave
For the sake of industry
The center held the bloody hand
Of the execution man
It took a long time to
Become the thing I am to you
And you won't tear it apart
Without a fight, without a heart
It took a long time to
Become you, become you
It took a long time to
Become you, become you