One Time One Night

A wise man was telling stories to me

About the places he had been to and the things that had seen

A quiet voice is singin' somethin' to me

An age-old song 'bout the home of the brave in this land here of the free

One time, one night in America

A lady dressed in white with the man she loves

Standin' along the side of their pickup truck

A shot rang out in the night, when everything seemed right

Another headline written down in America

The guy that lived next door in three-o-five

Took the kids to the park and disappeared 'bout half past nine

Who will ever know how much she loved them so?

That dark night alone in America

A quiet voice is singin' somethin' to me

An age-old song 'bout the home of the brave in this land here of the free

One time, one night in America

Four small boys playing ball in the parking lot

A preacher, a teacher, and the other became a cop

A car skidded in the rain, making the last little one a saint

One more light goes out in America

A young girl tosses a coin in the wishing well

She hopes for a heaven, while for her there's just this hell

She gave away her life to become somebody's wife

Another wish unanswered in America

People having so much faith

Die too soon while all the rest come late

We write a song that no one sings

On a cold black stone where a lasting peace will finally bring

Sunlight plays upon my window pane

I wake up to a world that's just the same

My father said to be strong, that a good man could never do wrong

In a dream I had last night in America

A wise man was telling stories to me

About the places he had been to and the things that had seen

A quiet voice is singing something to me

An age-old song 'bout the home of the brave in this land here of the free

One time, one night in America

One time, one night in America

One time, one night in America