They’re An American Band

The Grateful Dead is an American band,
As American as apple pie.

Patriotic as a mid-afternoon hanging.
What else did we build the town square for?

The lynch mob sang Terrapin Station as
They got what they paid for.
T-shirts were sold in the lot,
And everyone cheered true democracy.

The Grateful Dead is an American truth,
Like a shotgun being racked behind a closed door;
Like two-for-one Marlboros at the pharmacy;
Like traffic on the 101.
Like the Bowls, Super and Dust;
Like a protestor getting the hose for her own good;
Like the freedom to root for any team you want.

The Grateful Dead is an American band,
As American as a Hiroshima sunrise.