A few short years ago
I can still remember
How this country used to make me smile
And I knew when Al Gore got his chance
The world would respect us, even France
And there would be prosperity for a while
But November's election made me shiver
With every verdict the courts deliver
Bad news for the Gore cause
The judges wrote their own laws
I still recall the great uproar
When the Supremes came out by five to four
With Bush the victor over Gore
To start our country's slide

So hey, there's a new American way
No one's serving those deserving
But there's less tax to pay
We abuse our might and mock the world as we say
Don't mess with the US of A
Don't mess with the US of A

Did you watch the Sunshine State
How the scales got tipped to seal Al's fate
Jeb Bush winked "I told you so"
And the butterfly flew into Palm Beach
Both Al and Joe got one punch each
Ten thousand Gore votes cast aside before you know
And we witnessed Pat Buchanan's surge
While Dems on the voting rolls were purged
Nader siphoned off the left
The right's lawyers finished the theft
We were left with recounts, dimpled chad
Supremes appointed by Bush's dad
It sure made millions flaming mad
As it started our country's slide

And folks were singing
Hey, there's a new American way
No one's serving those deserving
But there's less tax to pay
We abuse our might and mock the world as we say
Don't mess with the US of A
Don't mess with the US of A

Now for three years Bush has been on his own
Remarkable how fast the deficit's grown
But that's not how it used to be
In the Clinton years things went really great
Balanced budget and a high employment rate
And a surplus meant to help the lives of you and me
But the tax cuts left the surplus dead
As we quickly climbed back in the red
The rich folks got their reward
The rest of us were ignored
And there's fuzzy math, you know that's true
Clearly forty-three is less than forty-two
And our grandkids hold an IOU
As we watch our country slide

And folks were singing
Hey, there's a new American way
No one's serving those deserving
But there's less tax to pay
We abuse our might and mock the world as we say
Don't mess with the US of A
Don't mess with the US of A

As the fighting slowed in Afghanistan
The Pentagon devised a hasty plan
With its hawkish eyes turned to Iraq
And the threats to us they'd exaggerate
Or on some occasions just fabricate
As they bullied for a green light to attack
Bush took his plans to the world stage
Where the UN voiced its stern outrage
Preemptive plans were pondered
The world's goodwill was squandered
He made desperate tries to justify
Like the WMDs and the Al-Qaida tie
But we knew it was just a lie
As we watched our country slide

And folks were singing
Hey, there's a new American way
No one's serving those deserving
But there's less tax to pay
We abuse our might and mock the world as we say
Don't mess with the US of A
Don't mess with the US of A

Into Iraq did our warplanes roar
Though shock and awe were neither nor
His approval ratings rising fast
And our troops expected to be well received
But just like us they'd been deceived
With the world on the sidelines, just aghast
In the streets Iraqi guns were drawn
The cowboy proclaimed "Bring it on"
He rushed to claim victory
With no exit strategy
On the Lincoln deck we're told the job's complete
Though the death toll's rising daily in the street
Trapped in a war of mass deceit
As we watch our country slide

And folks were singing
Hey, there's a new American way
No one's serving those deserving
But there's less tax to pay
We abuse our might and mock the world as we say
Don't mess with the US of A
Don't mess with the US of A

So if these days give you the blues
There's a solution, if you choose
Let's unite and vote Bush away
So make your way out to the polls
Be sure you're on the voting rolls
And we'll set off to restore faith in the USA
We'll reassert democracy
Remove the aristocracy
Make sure our voice is spoken
And the system isn't broken
And the Bush that I distrust the most
The father's son who's so prone to boast
Let's turn him into Texas toast
And end this country's slide

And we'll be singing
Hey, there's a new American way
We'll be serving those deserving
Each and every day
We'll restore the trust and the world will say
Welcome back US of A
Welcome back US of A

And we'll be singing
Hey, there's a new American way
We'll be serving those deserving
Each and every day
We'll restore the trust and the world will say
Welcome back US of A