Where Were You?

Where were you when the sky cracked open

Waiting for shelter and barely coping?

Thinking you could ride the storm out

Hoping you would be all right

Where were you when they gave a warning?

Hundred fifty mile winds by morning

Category four, making landfall

In the wild gray light

Where were you, where were you?

Where were you in the social order

Lower nine or a hotel in the Quarter

Which side of the Quarter between rich and poor?

Where were you gonna evacuate to?

Assuming there was any way to

Where if you didn't own a car

Where were you, where were you?

Where were you when you understood?

However decent, however good

However hard some people try

They only barely make it by

They're born to live their entire lives

In harm's way

So now where are we gonna go?

Where were you when you heard the stranded

The injured and the empty handed?

Running out of food and water

At the Superdome

With the newborn and the elderly

Exposed to even more misery

While those in charge of rescue

Waited for the Guard to come

Those who left the Convention Center

Were stopped on the bridge when they tried to enter

The safety of the Westbank and higher ground

And when the Guard finally did arrive

And got to work on about day five

Mainly they were used to keep the looting down

Where were you, where were you?

Where were you when you realized

However strong, however wise

However true our leaders appear to be?

They talk about prosperity

However hard this country strives

Where property is valued more than lives

How strong will we ever really be?

How long do we imagine we'll be free?

We hold the truth, self evident

The photograph of the President

An Air Force One, he viewed the devastation

Shaved face and rested eyes

Looking down, he circles twice

On his way home from his vacation

Where were you when you got the picture?

Where were you?

Where were you

When the streets filled up with black water?

Where were you

When defeat and destruction reigned in the Crescent?

Where were you

When it blew from every direction?

Where were you when the promise was made

To return and rebuild, to restore to its people

The city that gave us the first American music

True inspiration and the freedom to use it

Where will we find it again if we lose it

And where will we be if we ever cease to love?

If we ever cease to love