The Promise And The Dream
By Tom T. Hall
Written by Tom T. Hall
Album: We All Got Together And... (1972)
Tabbed by Larry Mofle
9/11/21

          G               C              G
There's a sadness in your singing I have never heard before
          D                          C                   G
There's a dying in your living that exists from shore to shore
          G              C              G            C
There's a coward in your character that I have never seen
 G                           D               G
America what happened to the promise and the dream


Chorus:
    D                                   C               G
The promise was that men could live and worship as they please
    D                                C                   G
The dream was for the huddled masses yearning to breathe free
   G              C                    G               C
We closed so many doors and banned the prayers on many scenes
 G                           D               G
America what happened to the promise and the dream


There's a numbness in your feeling for the disadvantaged poor
There's a weakness in your strength because your leaders are unsure
There are shadows in the light that once was freedom's brightest beam
America what happened to the promise and the dream

Chorus

Key change to A

          A              D              A
There's a hating in your loving for the permanence of vows
  E                          D                    A
Tomorrow doesn't matter it's all for the here and now
     A              D                   A           D
Your most important word called love is now a dirty thing
 A                           E               A  
America what happened to the promise and the dream 


Chorus:
    E                                   D               A
The promise was that men could live and worship as they please
    E                                D                   A
The dream was for the huddled masses yearning to breathe free
   A              D                    G               D
We closed so many doors and banned the prayers on many scenes
 A                           E               G
America what happened to the promise and the dream