FREE

I saw the young kids gathering. 
Their heroes were in town — 
A heavy metal rock group. 
That made a monstrous sound.

The kids were drinking alcohol.
Some were laying in the street.
There wasn't one among them happy,
They looked like soon-to-be-slaughtered sheep.

[Refrain:] Who's really free? 
One who's blind or one who sees? 
Who’s really free? Is it you or is it me?

In cities like Los Angeles
The runaways flock downtown,
To sell their teenage bodies,
And buy what drugs are going ‘round.

"Its a free society"
That's the excuse their parents give — 
For the aimlessness of modern youth 
And the suicidal life they live.

But in the International Society 
For Krishna Consciousness 
There’s a life of regulation — 
An alternative to this mess.

The devotees rise up early,
Two hours before sunrise —
To bathe and dress and chant names of God,
And in this way become wise.

To a higher goal of life,
Than to simply waste one’s breath —
The goal is to serve Krishna
And get free of birth and death.

But a hue and cry has broken out 
Among some older folk — 
They say we’re slaves, and they are free 
And what's even a sadder joke:

The children who have come to us
They say must be released
From Krishna’s grace to Maya’s crush —
Their happiness will increase.

The irony will be complete
If the world must go to war:
“Freedom” will dictate, the kids must die
To keep the enemy from the door.