Rags

Open your eyes, Bella
Just take a breath
Or maybe we just ought to pack our bags
Open your eyes, Bella
And be sick to death
Mine are open now
And let me tell you what I see
Rags!
Rags!
This land of freedom
We had to run to
Where now we’re free
Just like everyone
To wear rags
It’s all day seeing thm
All day smelling them
All day listening to pddlers selling them
Rags
Rags, we live in rags
And so we’re right in style
All the while
Sewing, sewing
Ever sewing
Hags!
We’ll turn to hags
It happens bit by bit
Let’s admit, Bella
As we sit
Sewing buttons on rags
Oh, why’d I think it so necessary?
To clamber on to that stinking ferry?
And drag us here
To become American rags?
Rebecca, we can’t give up now! Let’s remember our dreams!
Dreams, I had such dreams
Dreams
Of such a golden place
I believe
Silk and lace
They can come true
Milk and honey
True
Oh, that’s funny!
Lies!
In a little time
That’s all it seems
We just need time
The stupid dreams of you
Dreams, I believe
No more lies, Bella
They’ll come true
Open eyes! Time for facing the truth
Yes, dreams and goals and plans
We have got, like them
But they think all we are
Is not like them
See that gent
In his fancy clothes
How he sneers at us
Down his perfect nose
With his hair so clean
And his skin so clear
As he wonders
«What are they doing here?»
And he turns his back
And the rest do, too
And I want to scream
«I'm the same as you!»
But it isn’t true, I’m just
One more Jew
In her rags
Bella, I swear to you, I am going to find us some place better to live.
Whatever I have to do, I’ll get us there. David and me, and you, too
We didn’t come to America
To be hurt again
We didn’t come to America
To be dirt again
On the edge of a knife
If that’s where we remain
For a little bit longer now
We’ll grow smarter and stronger now
And we’ll pick ourselves us
When our courage and energy flecks
And we will fight
Every single day
And they may not like
That we mean to stay
But I swear our lives won’t be
Tossed away
Like these rags