Dead - David Rovics

There were millions of bombs falling from the sky

There were children looking up being they’d die

There were millions of people marching in the street

Hoping that their country would meet defeat

There were military contracts, lots of dollars to be made

Selling heroin and fighter jets in the arms trade

There were millions of soldiers refusing to kill

There were others taking orders directly from the Hill

Like the ones who were sent off to turn the campus red

Who were sent to kill the students dead

There were governors talking about military rule

If they want a bloodbath, let’s bring one to their school

If they want a bloodbath -- this was the very phrase

That’s the language that the governors were using those days

That’s the way they thought and that’s exactly what they did

There were politicians talking about gunning down kids

They said the students were worse than the Nazis in the war

A quote from the governor just a few days before

The Guard was sent in to turn the campus red

They were sent to kill the students dead

There was a sniper on the rooftop, ready to conspire

There were the National Guardsmen with the orders to fire

They all lined up — ready, aim, shoot

There was President Nixon in a three-piece suit

He brought the war home like he said he would

There was an entire generation who understood

There were soldiers lined up a hundred meters away

A bullet in the back is the price you gotta pay

When the Guard is sent in to turn the campus red

Sent to kill the students dead