Tom T. Hall - America The Ugly lyrics

There was a man came to see
The USA from a foreign land
To photograph the progress of
Dear old Uncle Sam
He got off the boat in New
York went down to the Bowery
I know what the man went
To photograph and to see
There were hopeless hungry living dead
Winos who sell their souls for a
Bottle of a cheapest red
That's the picture that he wanted
And that's what he got they
Say America the ugly today
He went to the Appalachians and he
Saw what we all have seen
Where people live on bread and soup
Fat back and pinto beans
He saw the hungry children and
He photographed the ragged clothes
I guess we're gonna try to tell
Him that it ain't so
There were good men standin' around
With nothing to do
Pregnant young women who didn't even
Have a pair of shoes
The man got his pictures and what are we
Going to say America the ugly today
Then he went to the medicare centers and
He saw the old people there
It seems that the young generation just
Didn't want 'em in their hair
He saw the poor man workin' it out
While the mighty rich lives high
And my friend that brings a
Gleam to the enemy's eyes
There were some folks had plenty and
Some had none at all
The enemy knows when a heart gets hard
The country is bound to fall
If we get heads and hearts together we
Won't have to hear them say
America the ugly today America the ugly today