If it please the court I've had a lot to say
And it's not always been true
Standing here before you, judge
I make my pledge of truth to you
verse 2
The waves came over the bowsprit
The decks awash with running green and foam
Back there at the wheel I was terrified
Next day we first saw home
verse 3
My relatives came over on the Mayflower
Landed on the shore almost alone
No that damn traffic today is terrible
And everywhere I look I see people alone
verse 4
Alone with their heads looking in their hands
Lost in the conversation stare
Walking with their eyes looking at the screen
Talking like they were really there
Instrumental
Verse 5
I'm lost in this new generation
Left me behind it seems
Listening to the shadow of Jimi Hendrix
"Purple Haze", sounding like TV
Verse 6
I stepped on someone's hand laying on the street
Both asleep and dead it may seem
He didn't even move there on the sidewalk
I stood there staring in a dream
Verse 7
She came along in her uniform
Stood moving me away with a gentle hand
Dressed in white like a nightingale
Her name was Florence, Florence of the Land
(I knew I'd seen her somewhere)
Verse 8
I knew I'd seen her somewhere
But she was busy with him gone
She came with three different brothers
Abraham, Martin and John
Verse 9
I heard a song about that once
And I never knew what it meant
Three stars died in a plane one night
Rock and Roll, the message that was sent
verse 10
I couldn't wrap my head around it
Didn't know what it meant
Standing there on that sandy beach
Watching it turn to cement
verse 11
Now I don't see all the colors
And I might miss some of their beauty
But I do see what I see
And I want to do my duty
verse 12
Enlisted in the Navy at the corner store
They had a recruiting booth
I covered my heart and raised my hand
And swore it was the truth
Outro
That's my pledge
That's my pledge
That's my pledge, judge
That's my pledge
