Native Son

(album: Chains Are Broken - 2018)

Came through snow and driving rain
I came free and I came chained
I watched ships pull up on shore
Worked and played, lived and died
Valleys deep and mountains high
Don't say you don't need me anymore

'Cause I ain't going nowhere
'Cause I'm right where I belong
I don't have to love it
And I don't have to leave it
Ain't no stranger here, I am your native son

Soldier, sailor, servant, slave
All the blood and sweat I gave
I sang songs of home I left behind
My head's been beaten, my soul's been spent
My taxes taken, my back's been bent
And no one ever paid me any mind

And I ain't going nowhere
'Cause I'm right where I belong
I don't have to love it
And I don't have to leave it
Ain't no stranger here, I am your native son

Been written outta every book
Jailed and slandered, robbed and took
But I always found another way
Earned in a factory, fought on the streets
Hung from the bridges, and died to speak
I brought you everything you have today

And I ain't going nowhere
'Cause I'm right where I belong
I don't have to love it
And I don't have to leave it
Ain't no stranger here, I am your native son
Ain't no stranger here, I am your native son

I'm your brother I've been beaten and mistreated
I'm your daughter, I've been lied to, I've been cheated
I'm the wife they call now when everything's in pieces
The forgotten child that you thought you never needed

I ain't going nowhere
'Cause I'm right where I belong
I don't have to love it
And I don't have to leave it
Ain't no stranger here, I am your native son
Ain't no stranger here, I am your native son