When tear gas fills the sky

I’ve seen the lands beyond these borders where the corporations rule

And they spin their lies and they globalize and the workers are their tool

And the streams are so polluted that their banks are bleak and bare

And the babies all are born deformed and the smog is everywhere.

And the workers’ wages drop thirty per cent in just one year

Now the greedy bastards want to bring that situation here

And you called upon me brother and you asked what I could do

And I told the truth, dear brother, when I spoke these words to you;

I will stand beside your shoulder when the tear gas fills the sky

And if a riot policeman shoots me down, I’ll be lookin’ him in the eye,

And I will wash their pepper from your face and go with you to jail

And if you don’t make it through this fight, I swear I’ll tell your tale

And I will stay with you in the prison cell in Solidarity

And I will not leave that cursed room ‘til you walk out with me

For we the people fight for freedom while the cops just fight for pay

And as long as truth is in our hearts, we’re sure to win some day.

I will not falter when that iron fist comes out of the velvet glove,

I will stand beside you, brother, and defend this land I love.

I’ve heard the tales from conquered islands where the sweatshop barons rule

Recruiting girls from the Asian slums to be the rich man’s tool.

And they’re promised lives of luxury in the golden U.S.A.

And then they’re stranded on these islands with their passports stripped away

And their aging fingers toil and bleed year after grueling year