Women sewed the stars and stripes

And the men, they fought the wars

Children learned arithmetic

And everyone was poor



Young man was the hero of the day

Long long hours and short short pay



Lesson I learned in a history book, now

Lesson I learned in a history book, now

It's not what they taught me



Folk lore, folk lore, folk lore

Your mama never told you

Folk lore, folk lore, folk lore

Your mama never told you



Now the women scream for equal rights

Their man wants to have an affair

Children learn to hate the world

And no one seems to care

[Incomprehensible]



Lesson I learned in a history book, now

Lesson I learned in a history book, now

It's not what they taught me



Folk lore, folk lore, folk lore

Your mama never told you that

Folk lore, folk lore, folk lore

Your mama never told you that



Some things never change

Some things stay the same

Some things rearranged

One thing I know for sure, heroes always die