What Are We Gonna Do? Lyrics - Singles - Tim Mcilrath

What are we gonna do? 

Said the hungry child to a father with empty hands 

What are we gonna do? 

When the smoke clears 

And reveals no promise land 

What are we gonna do? 

I don't know, it's a long long way to go. 

What are we gonna do? 

Splashed? across the table like a pile of fallen leaves 

She stares down at unpaid bills then up at him 

And unaware the journey that his father made for him 

But when the man asked for his papers 

You replied with empty hands 

And from the graves we dig for dreams, not realize 

Do you hear these muffled cries? 

What are we gonna do? 

What are we gonna do? 

And who is going to answer for our sins 

Could it be you? Or me 

When they left our fingerprints 

What are we gonna do? 

I don't know, it's a long, long way to go 

What are we gonna do? 

Somewhere in the spaces of a 9 round magazine 

The cowards pull the triggers at the seam 

And the apple of our eyes cannot survive these sharpened teeth 

Like Abraham and Isaac 

We will sacrifice and like it 

And when the sun sets 

We will wait here patiently 

We fall sleep but we don't dream 

What are we gonna do? 

Said the lion to the lamb 

As they drew lines in the sand 

Said the trees to the man 

When there were no seeds left to plant 

Said the widow to the grave 

As her roses fade away 

Said the hills to the sky 

As they kissed our last goodbye 

Said the worker to the chief 

Acts like a boss, more like a thief 

Said the ocean to the shore 

As the tides grow more and more 

Said the soldier to the priest 

What is it that I should believe? 

Said the desert to the rain 

When will you visit us again? 

How do we explain 

To children dancing in the rain 

What are we gonna do?