Finally got to Washington in the middle of the night
I couldn't wait
I headed straight for the Capitol Mall
My heart began to pound
Yahoo! It really exists
The American International Pictures logo

I looked up at that Capitol Building
Couldn't help but wonder why
I felt like saying "Hello, old friend"

Walked up the hill to touch it
Then I unzipped my pants
And pissed on it when nobody was looking

Like a great eternal Klansman
With his two flashing red eyes
Turn around he's always watching
The Washington monument pricks the sky
With flags like pubic hair ringed 'round the bottom

The symbols of our heritage
Lit up proudly in the night
Somehow fits to see the homeless people
Passed out on the lawn

So this is where it happens
The power games and bribes
All lobbying for a piece of ass

Of the stars and stripes of corruption
Makes me feel so ashamed
To be an American
When we're too stuck up to learn from our mistakes
Trying to start another Vietnam
Whilke fiddling while Rome burns at home
The Boss says, "You're laid off. Blame the Japanese"
"America's back," alright
At the game it plays the worst
Strip mining the world like a slave plantation

No wonder others hate us
And the Hitlers we handpick
To bleed their people dry
For our evil empire

The drug we're fed
To make us like it
Is God and country with a band

People we know who should know better
Howl, "America riles. Let's go to war!"
Business scams are what's worth dying for

Are the Soviets our worst enemy?
We're destroying ourselves instead
Who cares about our civil rights
As long as I get paid?

The blind Me-Generation
Doesn't care if life's a lie

So easily used, so proud to enforce

The stars and stripes of corruption
Let's bring it all down!
Tell me who's the real patriots
The Archie Bunker slobs waving flags?
Or the people with the guts to work
For some real change
Rednecks and bombs don't make us strong
We loot the world, yet we can't even feed ourselves
Our real test of strength is caring
Not the toys of war we sell the world
Just carry on, thankful to be farmed like worms
Old glory for a blanket
As you suck on your thumbs

Real freedom scares you
'Cause it means responsibility

So you chicken out and threaten me

Saying, "Love it or leave it"
I'll get beat up if I criticize it
You say you'll fight to the death
To save your worthless flag

If you want a banana republic that bad
Why don't you go move to one
But what can just one of us do?
Against all that money and power
Trying to crush us into roaches?

We don't destroy society in a day
Until we change ourselves first
From the inside out

We can start by not lying so much
And treating other people like dirt
It's easy not to base our lives
On how much we can scam

And you know
It feels good to lift that monkey off our backs

I'm thankful I live in a place
Where I can say the things I do
Without being taken out and shot
So I'm on guard against the goons
Trying to take my rights away
We've got to rise above the need for cops and laws

Let kids learn communication
Instead of schools pushing competition
How about more art and theater instead of sports?

People will always do drugs
Let's legalize them
Crime drops when the mob can't price them
Budget's in the red?
Let's tax religion

No one will do it for us
We'll just have to fix ourselves
Honesty ain't all that hard
Just put Rambo back inside your pants
Causing trouble for the system is much more fun

Thank you for the toilet paper
But your flag is meaningless to me
Look around, we're all people
Who needs countries anyway?

Our land, I love it too
I think I love it more than you
I care enough to fight

The stars and stripes of corruption
Let's bring it all down!
If we don't try
If we just lie
If we can't find
A way to do it better than this
Who will?


Lyrics submitted by Ice

Stars and Stripes of Corruption Lyrics as written by Eric Reed Boucher Darren Henley

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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Stars And Stripes Of Corruption song meanings
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13 Comments

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  • +3
    General Comment
    This is my Flag Day song. It always bothered me that people put so much store in something like a flag, which is only a symbol that means different things to different people. I thought the sentiment was quintessentially 80s until the recent spike in jingoism. And with the recent fad of anti-flag-burning ammendments, this song is once again on all my playlists. What's wrong with these people? A flag isn't freedom, it isn't equality, and it isn't justice. It's just a piece of cloth with some stars and stripes on it - a symbol that makes some people sentimental and makes others quake in fear. It all depends on where you stand. Want the world to believe we mean well? Put down your flags and start saying something sincere.
    maddsurgeonon October 05, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment
    I think this song is DK's best. This is THE song.
    bhc drunk punkon July 02, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment
    The essential Dead Kennedys song. Jello's sarcastic humor is still there, but it's focused completely on the government and how badly it's fucked up the country he loves.
    YassssssNopeon April 27, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    this is the greatest DK song. The lyrics are fucking awesome. Its basically saying how fucked up this country really is and theres all these people who claim to be patriots but have really done nothing to help improve the country at all.
    teenagefuckupon June 09, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    awesome , they say it all in this song. i used a line of it for my senior quote: Real freedom scares you 'Cos it means responsibility
    AllieCaton July 22, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    DK doesn't hate America, like so many right-wingers and christians beleive. DK loves America, but admits there are countless problems in the gov't. This is their best written song by far, and probably their best song.
    TimothyFarrellon October 06, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    The most patriotic people, the ones who really care the most about their people, are usually the ones who get abused for it, cos they're the ones who point out what's fucked up and try to make things better, while the self-centred and corrupt just tell people what they want to hear and then take advantage of it. So tough love get's a worse rep than screwing people over.
    shadowwiththeeyeson October 28, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Easily the best Dead Kennedys song that there is. That is all.
    HellaGayFagon April 09, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    This song is one of their better ones because they don't just point out how fucked up society is, but they break and say "what can anyone of us do...."
    edwarticaon May 28, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    This song is my ringtone and of of my favorite DK songs, my uncle is one of the archie bunker slobs and he hates DK. so i made this song my ringtone, and it sounds good followed by where do you draw the line. and to people who think Jello Hates America, if he hated it Why would he run for president?
    Lord_Hypnoson September 27, 2007   Link

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