[Verse 1]
We heard the fireworks, rushed out to watch the sky
Happy-go-lucky, the Fourth of July

[Chorus]
How can you live in the Northeast?
How can you live in the South?
How can you build on the banks of a river
When the floodwater pours from the mouth?
How can you be a Christian?
How can you be a Jew?
How can you be a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu?
How can you?

[Verse 2]
Weak as the winter sun, we enter life on earth
Names and religion come just after date of birth
Everybody gets a tongue to speak, everyone hears an inner voice
A day at the end of the week to wonder and rejoice
If the answer is infinite light, why do we sleep in the dark?

[Chorus 2]
How can you live in Northeast?
How can you live the South?
How can you build on the banks of a river
When the floodwater pours from the mouth?
How can you tattoo your body?
Why do you cover your head?
How can you eat from a rice bowl
When the holy man only breaks bread?
[Verse 3]
We watched the fireworks until they were fireflies
Followed a path of stars over the endless skies

[Chorus 3]
How can you live in the Northeast?
How can you live in the South?
How can you build on the banks of a river
When the floodwater pours from the mouth, from the mouth?

[Outro]
I’ve been given all I wanted
Only three generations off the boat
I have harvested and I have planted
I am wearing my father’s old coat