Keith Peters - Call Them What They Are Lyrics

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who told me about some stones
In a far away place in the desert sand
In the shadow of some bones
A face appearing painfully afraid and alone
Once proud of his accomplishments
But nothing to be shown
A pedestal with an inscription ironically contained
A praise for something that wasn't there
That history detained
Call me by my kingdom, call me by my name
Look upon my wealth, and look upon my fame

And somewhere down the line
This figure had failed
Somewhere down the line
Someone lifted the veil
Somewhere down the line
Someone had had enough
Somewhere down the line
Someone called his bluff

Leaders will come again
Leaders will fall again
Leaders will die again
Traitors will come again
Traitors will be found again
Traitors will be killed again
Fascists will come again
Fascists will fool again
And they'll consume their fellow man
Statues will be built for them
Statues will fall again
Statues will be built again
And that's why we must call them what they are

I followed back that traveler to show me the stones
In the far away place in the desert sand
In the shadow of some bones
A face appearing painfully, miserably alone
Once proud of its accomplishments
But nothing to be shown
The pedestal with the inscription so stubbornly proclaimed
The accolade of glory
An embarrassing display
It said, "Call me by my kingdom, Call me by my name
Look upon my wealth, and look upon my fame

The skilled ones learn to talk like you
The skilled ones learn to walk like you
And the skilled ones force their thoughts on you
And that's why we
Must call them what they are
Fascist nazi sympathizers
1950's glorifiers
Racist and misogynistic
Got a message so simplistic
Pro-life until you are born
Useless 'till you're sent to war
What you give is not enough
The NRA can give them more

And racists have come again
And as leaders they will pretend
And sexists have come again
To steal the rights from our women
And traitors have come again
To eat away his fellow man
And statues have been built again
And they'll stand long before they fall
And that's why we must call them what they are