"We thought I was going to be a great athlete, and we were wrong, and I thought I was going to be a great entertainer, and that wasn't it either. I'm going to be an American Citizen. First Class."
~~Dick Gregory
My ancestors came here
From a land far away
It was here I was born
In the grand USA
Land of the free and home of the brave
This is what they always say
But for my kind it's different
For us with darker skin
We must fight for out freedom
And pray that we win
Land of the free and home of the brave
This is what they always say
Though we grew up 3rd class
I still looked towards the sky
I started running for my school
Faster and faster, until my soul could fly
Land of the free and home of the brave
This is what they always say
I ran all through college
We thought I was to be a great athlete
But after I graduated
It was in the field of comedy that I started to compete
Land of the free and home of the brave
This is what they always say
Through my comedy routine I spread the message
About poverty and segregation
I became active in the Civil Rights Movement
To stop racial discrimination
Land of the free and home of the brave
This is what they always say
These acts of Civil Rights
Sparked a fire in my soul
I quite 2nd class comedy
And went to the polls
Land of the free and home of the brave
This is what they always say
In the 1970's I widened my political interests
Now I help groups of people large in mass
I became an American Citizen
First Class
Land of the free and home of the brave
This is now what I always say