The American

My father was born in Bogotá
In 1889, his great grandfather left Colombia
And moved to Brooklyn with no money in his hand
He filled his pockets selling Panama hats
And met his wife in Sunset Park
Bought land in Long Island
And could finally call himself American

He was exiled from his country
All those years ago
Fought for freedom from oppression
Slept weeks on a boat
The destination, our nation
Land of the free, home of the brave
"Loveland" it was named
And I stem from the same

Who am I to say I am American?
What is my white face and does it honor the immigrants?

And I am not native at all
I am not native at all
I am not native at all
I am not native at all

My father spent summers in LA
In 1938, his mother had to flee from Germany
She and her family were Jewish born
Her mother had written poorly of the Führer in the news
And soon they left behind everything that they had
Twelve years old, she's learning French in Switzerland
Then made their to California
Hollywood is not Heilbronn
But if you learn to speak in English
And you shop the way it wants
You can finally call yourself American

She was exiled from her country
Though from its soil, she was born
And the U.S. was the beacon
Where freedom had been formed
The destination, this nation
Land of the free, home of the brave
Loveland it was named
And I stem from the same
Loveland it was named
And I stem from the same

Who can really claim they're more American?
How could one forget all those who
Risked their lives for their descendants?

And I am not native at all
I am not native at all
I am not native at all
I am not native at all

I was taught the Missions
Were the Spaniards following their grace
But I was not taught thousands
Of native families had been enslaved
I was taught the Gold Rush
Had made the West what it is today
But I was not taught treaties were betrayed
And tribes were slaughtered on the way

And now I look at my face
And I see British cheeks
The same pigment that pretends
This land's a white man's destiny
So go on look at yourself
And ask what native really means
Ask what native really means

High and low
Building a wall
What are they frightened of
Watch us grow
We'll never fall
No wall is high enough

High and low
Building a wall
What are they frightened of
Watch us grow
We'll never fall
No wall is high enough

I am not native at all
I am not native at all
I am not native at all
I am not native at all
I am not native at all
I am not native at all
I am not native at all
I am not native at all

My father was raised in Mexico
In 1969, he and his brother left for boarding school
There in New Jersey, he was made a U.S. kid
Despite his history and his birth certificate
He was The American, a lawyer then
And a family man
The California dream
My born identity