4th of July

As I celebrate tomorrow, I hope to remember that "This nation, indivisible will perish from the earth... And the band will end the anthem—to dust she will return. So the sun must set on all things, great and small. But the first star of the evening will outlive them all." (Ben Shive)

4TH OF JULY

Words and Music by Ben Shive

The first star of the evening

Was singing in the sky

High above our blanket in the park

And by the twilight’s gleaming

On the 4th day of July

The city band played on into the dark

And then a canon blast

A golden flame unfolding

Exploded in a momentary bloom

The petals fell and scattered

Like ashes on the ocean

As another volley burst into the blue

But the first star of the evening never moved

We stood in silence

The young ones and the old

As the bright procession passed us by

A generation dying

Another being born

A long crescendo played out in the sky

Yeah

This nation, indivisible

Will perish from the Earth

As surely as the leaves must change and fall

And the band will end the anthem

To dust she will return

So the sun must set on all things, great and small

But the first star of the evening

Will outlive them all