It's still in San Diego
You can hear a baby cryin'
As the trains of New York City
Roll thunder down the line
The teachers rise in Richmond [1]
As they sleep in San Anton' [2]
While the harbor lights on Baltimore
Guide nurses headed home [3]
And the jails of Maricopa [4]
Say a man is but his wrong
It's morning in America
But I can't see the dawn [5]
Congressmen in Washington
Receive their brief and brew
While lead, it fills the pipelines
In a Detroit county school [6]
And I think of my grandmother
How she told me to be strong
It's morning in America
But I can't see the dawn
A junkie waits in Jacksonville
Prescription for the pain
As what the doctor ordered
Comes screaming through the vein [7]
And in towns across the country
It's color that divides
When in working men and ladies
We could find our common side
It's morning in America
It's morning in America
We're mourning in America
And I can't see the dawn, no
You can hear a baby cryin'
As the trains of New York City
Roll thunder down the line
The teachers rise in Richmond [1]
As they sleep in San Anton' [2]
While the harbor lights on Baltimore
Guide nurses headed home [3]
And the jails of Maricopa [4]
Say a man is but his wrong
It's morning in America
But I can't see the dawn [5]
Congressmen in Washington
Receive their brief and brew
While lead, it fills the pipelines
In a Detroit county school [6]
And I think of my grandmother
How she told me to be strong
It's morning in America
But I can't see the dawn
A junkie waits in Jacksonville
Prescription for the pain
As what the doctor ordered
Comes screaming through the vein [7]
And in towns across the country
It's color that divides
When in working men and ladies
We could find our common side
It's morning in America
It's morning in America
We're mourning in America
And I can't see the dawn, no
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[2] San Antonio, Texas has a long history with protests, many of which were ultimately successful. Some of San Antonia’s past protests include the San Antonio Laundry Strike of 1937, Segregation Protest of 1955, Picketing City Hall in 1963, and the CWA Bell Telephone Company Strike of 1985.
[3] In July of 2019, nurses and community activists gathered outside Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore to protest the hospital for suing low-income patients who had medical debt.
[4] Maricopa County, Arizona is home of the self-styled “Toughest Sheriff in America” Joe Arpaio. Arpaio was investigated by the US Department of Justice, who concluded in 2011 that he was responsible for a law enforcement culture of racial profiling, in addition to other unconstitutional abuses.
[5] “Morning in America” was the theme of a Ronald Reagan 1984 reelection campaign commercial, making the case that Reagan had brought a new era of prosperity to Americans.
The song’s chorus suggests that while this may be true for some Americans, it isn’t true for him.
[6] Beginning in 2014, changes to the water supply for Flint, Michigan brought on long-lasting contamination from lead and bacteria. An estimated 100,000 residents, including 6,000-12,000 children, were exposed to high levels of lead, a neurotoxin known for disorders pertaining to childhood development.
[7] Frazer is commenting on the fact that surgeons and pharmacies are over-prescribing addictive painkillers, such as morphine or opioids. Studies show that surgeons 6% of patients who are prescribed opioids following surgery will still be taking them 3-6 months later, and will develop an addiction.