I Remember
M.D.C. Lyrics

I remember when I first went to school
The singer remembers his childhood when he went to school.

They said, Don't be a joker, don't be a fool
The singer was told not to joke around and be foolish.

Pledge your allegiance to the red, white and blue
He was instructed to pledge his loyalty to the United States.

Don't expect your country to do nothin' for you
He was warned not to expect any favors from his country.

They said your forefathers loved you
He was told that his forefathers loved him.

but I only had one
However, the singer only had one forefather.

And I watched him die in the heat of the sun
The singer saw his forefather die due to the police's bullets.

Suckin' up the bullets of a policeman's gun
The singer's forefather was killed by a gunshot from a police officer.

There was nothin' I could do but stay away
He couldn't do anything to prevent his forefather's death, but he could stay away.

In the U.S.A. you gotta take your chances
The singer lives in the United States where you need to take risks to succeed.

If you plan on stayin' free
If you want to stay free, you need to take those chances.

They call this the land of the living
The United States is also known as the 'land of the living.'

But they're trying to make a dead man out of me
However, the singer feels like he's being pushed towards his death.

I remember when I first hit the road
The singer remembers the time when he hit the road for the first time.

I was runnin' from the lenders of the money I owed
He was on the run from money lenders he owed money to.

Came to Austin, heard a knock at my door
He visited Austin and heard someone knocking at his door.

Crossed another border and I'm runnin' some more
He crossed another border and started running again.

They say they're gonna get me but it ain't happened yet
He was told that he would be caught, but he hasn't been caught yet.

Burnin' my fingers on my last cigarette
He was smoking his last cigarette and burning his fingers.

It's time to remember time to forget
He thinks it's time to remember and forget things.

Nothin' I could do but get away
He ran away because he couldn't do anything else.

I remember all the stories I heard
He remembers all the stories he was told.

How a man's supposed to be 'bout as free as a bird
One of those stories was about being as free as a bird.

My brother's in prison, my father's dead
His brother is in prison, and his father is dead.

Me, I'm tired of living with a price on my head
The singer is tired of living his life with a bounty on his head.

I wonder if there's a place to be
He wonders whether there is a place for him to live peacefully.

In the whole wide country for a fella like me
He wonders whether there's a place for him in the United States as a wanted person.

Name's in the paper, face on T.V.
He's a well-known person whose name appears in the newspaper and face appears on TV.

Nothin'I can do but get away
He can't do anything except run away from his problems.