HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty,
and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed.
That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends,
it is the Right of the People to alter or
to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its foundation on such principles and
organizing its powers in such form, as to them
shall seem most likely to effect their
Safety and Happiness.

The Declaration of Independence of the
Thirteen Colonies In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen
United States of America,

 

Independence Day is the birthday of the United States of America and is celebrated on the Fourth of July each year. Independence Day is the anniversary of the day on which the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

John Adams, one of the founders of our new nation, said, "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore." Independence Day was first celebrated in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776.

In 1941, Congress declared July 4 a legal public holiday.

 

you gotta have the right tools
for every job
so I invite myself in
through a hole in the fence
I am tripping through the junkyard
scanning over the piles
the thin cats raise their skin in defense
I know he's watching me
I can see him through the cracks
his eyes are small and shy on my back
he says his name is jason
he lives in the last trailer on the right
and he'll be seven
on the fourth of july

only the people who live here
know the name of this place
my path through iowa would be
hard to trace
all the adults in this town
try not to frown
when I walk by
but jason smiled at me
he met my eye

he don't ask me
where I'm from
or why I came
here alone
we all go looking for paradise
then we go back home
we cut out the small talk
go right to the way things are
he showed me his squirrel skull
I told him I locked myself out of my car

so there goes the only friend
I have in iowa
his hand flapping behind him
waving good-bye
his name is jason
he lives in the last trailer on the right
and he'll be seven
on the fourth of july

  (Ani Di Franco)

Shall I tell it again how we started as friends
Who would run into one another now and again
At the yippee cai o or the mesa dupree
Or a dozen different everyday places to be

I was loping along living alone
We were ever so brave on the telephone
Would you care to come down for fireworks time
We could each just reach
We step out of line

And the smell of the smoke and the lay of the land
And the feeling of finding ones heart in ones hand
And the tiny tin voice of the radio band singing
Love must stand
Love forever and ever must stand

Unbelievable you, impossible me
The fool who fell out of the family tree
The fellow that found the philosophers stone
Deep underground like a dinosaur bone

Who fell into you at a quarter to two
With a tear in your eye for the fourth of july
For the patriots and the minutemen
And the things you believe they believed in then

Such as freedom, and freedoms land
And the kingdom of God and the rights of man
With the tiny tin voice of the radio band
Singing love must stand
Love forever and ever must stand
And forever must stand

Oh the smell of the smoke as we lay on the land
And the feeling of finding my heart in my hand
With the tiny tin voice of the radio band
Singing love must stand
Love forever and ever must stand

All on the fourth of july
On the fourth of july

Shower in the dark day
Clean sparks driving down
Cool in the waterway
Where the baptized drown
Naked in the cold sun
Breathing life like fire
Thought I was the only one
But that was just a lie

Cause I heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the 4th of july

Pale in the flare light
The scared light cracks & disappears
And leads the scorched ones here
And everywhere no one cares
The fire is spreading
And no one wants to speak about it
Down in the hole
Jesus tries to crack a smile
Beneath another shovel load

And I heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the 4th of july

Now Im in control
Now Im in the fall out
Once asleep but now I stand
And I still remember
Your sweet everything
Light a roman candle
And hold it in your hand

Cause I heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the 4th of july

Trembling Starry eyed
As you put your hand in mine...

Verse

It was twilight
On the Fourth of July
Sparkling colors were
Strewn across the sky
And we sat close enough
That we just barely touched
While roman candles
Went soaring above us and baby

Chorus

Then you put your hand in mine
And we wandered away
I was trembling inside
But I wanted to stay
Pressed against you there
and leave the world behind
On that Fourth of July

Verse

So starry eyed
On the flowery hillside
Breathless and fervid
Amid the dandelions
As it swept over me
Like the wind through the trees
I felt you sigh with a
Sweet intensity and baby

Chorus

Then you put your hand in mine
And we floated away
Delicately lay entwined
In an intimate daze
A crescent moon began to shine
And I wanted to stay
Tangled up with you among the fireflies
On that Fourth of July

Bridge

Thunder clouds
Hung around
So threateningly
Ominously hovering
And the sky
Opened wide
Showering

Chorus
Then you put your hand in mine
And we ran from the rain
Tentatively kissed goodnight
And went our separate ways
And I've never truly felt the way that I
Felt the Fourth of July

Outro

Truly I have never felt the same inside
Like that Fourth of July
Truly I could never feel the same as I
Felt that Fourth of July

I used to live but now I survive
I used to believe but now it's just one day at a time
The circus is gone, it's all packed away
The clown's hat, the makeup's been packed in his case
Chorus:
So we wave goodbye to Miss Fourth of July
The queen of the roses has left us with nothing but thorns
Don't say we never tried, Miss Fourth of July
The stars that we reached for left us with nothing but dawn
I used to laugh but I've learned to cry
For I ain't too proud to let you see tears fall from these eyes
For all of my hopes, my heartaches and fears
For a night I just watched and you walked out of here
Chorus:
I just waved goodbye to Miss Fourth of July
The queen of the roses has left us with nothing but thorns
Don't say we never tried, Miss Fourth of July
The crown that we reached for left us with nothing
But your thorns left me wounded not unlike the truth
When innocence sang his last song
He'd tell me that it's all gone
Just look me in the eyes and say it meant nothing at all
- solo -
I used to live, now I've learned to die
And I used to dream… I used to dream…
Chorus:
So now we wave goodbye to Miss Fourth of July
The queen of the roses has left us with nothing but thorns
Don't say we've never tried, Miss Fourth of July
The stars that we reached for, they've left us with nothing but dawn
Oh, yeah…
Nothing but a heavy hit of heartbreak
A handful of blues..

Today's the fourth of July

another June has gone by

and when they light up our town I just think

what a waste of gunpowder and sky

I'm certain that I am alone

in harbouring thoughts of our home

it's one of my faults that I can't quell my past

I ought to have gotten it gone

        Oh, baby, I wonder - if when you are older -

        someday-

        you'll wake up

        and say, 'My God, I should have told her -

        what would it take?

        But now here I am and the world's gotten colder

        and she's got the river down which I sold her.'

So that's today's memory lane

with all the pathos and pain

another chapter in a book where the chapters are

endless

and they're always the same

a verse, then a verse, and refrain

        Oh, baby, I wonder - if when you are older -

        someday-

        you'll wake up

        and say, 'My God, I should have told her -

        what would it take?

        But now here I am and the world's gotten colder

        and she's got the river down which I sold her.'

Marchin, I hear marchin
Outside my window in the rain
I play checkers, I'm sick of checkers
I'm sick of pain

Marchin, I hear marchin
Outside my window in the rain
I play checkers, I'm sick of checkers
I'm sick of pain, I'm sick of pain
Mondays, every Monday
Sees my hollow eyes
I liked Hank Williams, He died Hank Williams
I'm still alive, I'm still alive

Blood red and blue your flags on view
Ticker tape rains on Fifth Avenue
Some coloured kid will shine your shoes
Some orphan screams in a chow line queue
For the whitewash and the tarbrush don't lie
Hey lucky you to be born on the 4th of July

Callin storm warnins callin'
From Calvary to Bunker Hill
Pontius Pilate turned the tarot
And the reaper killed, and the reaper killed
Glory wave old glory
Sand Creek to Gettysburgh
From Andrew jackson to Richard Nixon
For the brave new world, for the brave new world

It's last request for protest time
Some long haired kid on the subway line
With a beaten guitar and a lot of time
We shall overcome, well we never shall
It's flags on lapels and faded decals
Max Yasga and puka shells
Dundarees and dying causes
Body bags and pregnant pauses
Dayglow poster of Joan Baez
Meditatiing, datind, yoga and E.S.T
Bells and flowers and beads of incense
Well none of that nuts makes any sense
For the whitwash and the tarbrush don't lie
Hey lucky you to be born on the 4th of July.
(Bernie Taupin)

Sandy, the fireworks are hailin' over Little Eden tonight
Forcin' a light into all those stony faces left stranded on this warm July
Down in town the circuit's full of switchblade lovers so fast, so shiny, so
sharp
As the wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers
on the shore
Chasin' all them silly New York virgins by the score

And Sandy, the aurora is risin' behind us
This pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh, love me tonight for I may never see you again
Hey Sandy girl
Now, now baby

Now the greasers, oh they tramp the streets or get busted for sleeping on the beach all night
Them boys in their high heels, ah Sandy their skins are so white
And me I just got tired of hangin' in them dusty arcades bangin' them pleasure machines
Chasin' the factory girls underneath the boardwalk where they all promise to unsnap their jeans
And you know that tilt-a-whirl down on the south beach drag
I got on it last night and my shirt got caught
And they kept me spinnin', didn't think I'd ever get off

Oh Sandy, the aurora is risin' behind us
This pier lights our carnival life on the water
Runnin' laughing beneath the boardwalk, oh with the boss' daughter

I remember Sandy girl
My my my my baby

Sandy, that waitress I was seeing lost her desire for me
I spoke with her last night, she said she won't set herself on fire for me anymore
She worked that joint under the boardwalk
She was always the girl you saw bopping down the beach with the radio
The kids say last night she was just like a star in one of 'em cheap little seaside bars
And I saw her parked with lover boy out on the Kokomo

Dj'hear the cops finally busted Madame Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do
For me this boardwalk life's through baby
You ought to quit this scene too

Sandy the aurora's rising behind us
This pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh, love me tonight, and I promise I'll love you forever
Oh, I mean it sandy girl
My my my my my my baby
Yeah, I promise Sandy girl
Shalalala my baby

Born on the Fourth of July

Words and Music by Tom Paxton
(Inspired by the book by Ron Kovic)

As a schoolboy I played with a plastic grenade
It was grey and with caps it was loaded
In the dirt we would cry and dramatically die
As it flew through the air and exploded
As a young man my dream was to be a marine
My flag was worth all I could bring it
The country felt young. When the anthem was sung
Well it gave me the goosebumps to sing it.

[Cho.]
I was born on the fourth of July
No one more loyal than I
When my country said so, I was ready to go,
And I wish I'd been left there to die.

When I landed in 'Nam I was great Uncle Sam
I was fighting for God and my mother.
And I knew what to do when my first tour was through,
I signed up and went back for another.
But it all tumbled down when we ambushed the town,
In the night how the metal was flying.
We blew it to hell. Really did our job well,
But just women and kids did the dying

[Cho.]

In the damn DMZ it all ended for me,
The fighting broke out and we scattered.
One shot hit my heel, the last thing I'd feel,
The next hit my spine and it shattered.
In my hospital bed I could hear what was said,
And the word will stay with me forever.
With my whole life ahead, my body was dead,
And the word they were using was never.

[Cho.]

Now I wheel myself down to the crossroads of town,
To see the young girls and their lovers.
And my mind is afire, it's alive with desire,
Christ, I'd barely begun, now it's over.
In my wheelchair for life, my mechanical wife,
I'm supposed to be cheerful and stoic.
I'm your old tried-and-true, Yankee Doodle to you,
Clean-cut, paralysed and heroic.

[Cho.]

Alone with the morning burning red in the canvas in my head
Painting a picture of you
And me driving across country, in a dusty old RV
Just the road and its majesty
And I'm looking at you with the world in the rear view

Chorus
You were pretty as can be, sitting in the front seat
Looking at me, telling me you love me, and your happy to be,
With me on the 4th of July
We sang Stranglehold to the stereo
Couldn't take no more of that rock n roll
So we put on a little George Jones and just sang along

Those white lines get drawn into the sun if you aint got no one
To keep you hanging on
And there you were like a queen with your nightgown,
Riding shotgun from town to town
Staking a claim on the world we found
And I'm singing to you, your singing to me, you were out of the blue to a boy like me

Chorus
You were pretty as can be, sitting in the front seat
Looking at me, telling me you love me, and your happy to be,
With me on the 4th of July
We sang Stranglehold to the stereo
Couldn't take no more of that rock n roll
So we put on a little George Jones and just sang along
and im looking for you in the silence that we share

Chorus
You were pretty as can be, sitting in the front seat
Looking at me, telling me you love me, and your happy to be,
With me on the 4th of July
We sang Stranglehold to the stereo
Couldn't take no more of that rock n roll
So we put on a little George Jones and just sang along

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the
Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before
they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving
in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred
honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were
farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated.

But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well
that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships
swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties
to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without
pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from
him, and poverty was his reward.


Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,
Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted that the British General
Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and

Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed
his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13
children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more.

Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War.

We didn't just fight the British. We were British subjects and we fought our own government! Some of us take our liberties for granted, forgetting they were won by the "militia" against an overbearing central government bent on robbing individuals of basic rights to speech, self-defense, and personal property.

Be sure to take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday to silently thank these patriots and resolve never to give away the freedoms they died to secure. It's not too much to ask for the price they paid.


Remember: freedom is never free

Once in a while
In a big blue moon
There comes a night like this
Like some surrealist
Invented this 4th of July
Night ride home

Hula girls
And caterpillar tractors in the sand
The ukulele man
The fireworks
This 4th of July
Night ride home

I love the man beside me
We love the open road
No phones till Friday
Far from the overkill
Far from the overload

Back at the bar
The band tears down
But out here in the headlight beams
The silver power lines
Gleam
On this 4th of July
Night ride home

We round the curve
And a big dark horse
Red taillights on his hide
Is keeping right alongside
Rev for stride
4th of July
Night ride home

I love the man beside me
We love the open road
No phones till Friday
Far from the undertow
Far from the overload

Once in awhile
In a big blue moon
There comes a night like this
Like some surrealist
Invented this 4th of July
Night ride home