By Dan Bern and Chris Chandler
Transcribed by Justin
 

G                           D
On the 19th day of April
    A   D
In 1995
D
There was the worst car bombing
        A                D
Near 200 people died

G                  D
In Oklahoma City
      A                          D
On Wednesday nine o'clock
D
They struck the federal building
         A                      D
Took out near half the block

G                                D
They thought it was an earthquake
A                                    D
Made trees and lightpoles bend
D
And folks thought they were seeing
      A                     D
The world about to end

G                           D
It blew the building open
   A                    D
It lay there like a wound
D
Twisted pipes and wires
A               D
Silent like a tomb

G                                        D
Yeah, they blew the building open
       A                     D
And blew folks lives apart
D
Firefighters mumbling
       A                            D
And wondering where to start

G                               D
They rushed out some survivors
      A                     D
But soon could only cry
D
And place the dead in caskets
       A                        D
And ask the dear lord why

G                   D
Prayer for the missing
       A                       D
For daughters and for sons
D
Prayers for the souls of those
           A                   D
Who'd never heard a one

G                       D
Kevin Small was lucky
      A                  D
His clock needed repair
D
He overslept an hour
      A                                D
His three-year old son was spared

G                        D
But for too many others
       A                      D
The news was not so bright
D
One baby got her picture in the paper
A            D
Then she died

G                        D
The President, he promised
                  A                 D
They'd pay dearly for the blast
D
and all across the country
                 A                D
Flags were flying at half mast

G                              D
Shock soon turned to anger
                    A                      D
"Who would do this?" people said
D
And everyone suspicious
          A                      D
Had a price upon their head

G                                     D
They thought it was some Arabs
       A                     D
And folks began to scream
         D
"First tighten up the borders
        A                      D
Then hang 'em from a tree"

G                                          D
This proves what we've been saying
A                                  D
'Bout our fair and gentle land
D
Nobody who did this
          A       D
Could be an American"

G                D
The FBI got busy
A                                    D
Some drawings and some names
D
And everyone was looking
       A                     D
For someone else to blame

G                     D
Some 50 hours later
A                 D
Early Friday day
D
They found the man they wanted
    A                    D
In jail ten miles away

G                       D
A so-called right extremist
A                             D
A patriot government foe
D
An expert on explosions
       A                   D
And white as drive snow

G                                 D
When people heard the news they found it
A                   D
Hard to understand
D
How could such a murderer
          A                   D
Come from our own land

G                                         D
But when we build walls and borders
A                                 D
From fear and hate and guns
D
The hatred turns around and
A                    D
Strikes at everyone

G                        D
Maybe now we'll understand
A                        D
Maybe now we'll see
D
Superpatriots are seldom
A                          D
Friends of you and me

G                                          D
They're scared and weak and cowards
A                                         D
And they think that with their guns
D
The ones they're most afraid of
A                             D
Will turn around and run

G                                         D
But when we stand strong together
A                             D
And let love enjoy its will
D
Misfortune can't defeat us
   A                          D
It makes us stronger still

G                                  D
Like on the 19th day of April
A      D
In 1995
D
A day all Oklahomans will
A                          D
Remember all their lives