I've felt the heat in the city of angels   Dust up on high and the worse for wear   I've seen the lights going down on sunset   Madmen running loose, there's murder in the air      So this is America      Love colder than death, working the streets   Love doesn't come cheap, so I learn how to steal   Religion for sale, buy my way into heaven   Sell my soul for a trick, it's not worth a great deal      So this is America      I remember her smile and her virgin heart   I remember her tears tearing me apart   I remember my hands, helpless and tied   As they led her away I remember I cried      I've put my life in the hands of a scream   Small talked and less with legends to be   But I carried a torch for the child forbidden   When the heat closed in, they crucified me      So this is America      Dreams don't come easy without any sleep   Laid wide eyed and weary on this damned bed of nails   I hit the freeway and step on the speed   Head for the desert when madness prevails      So this is America      God bless you, America, God bless you, America   God bless you, America, God bless you   America