[Verse 1]
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

[Chorus]
Lesson I learned in a history book
Lesson I learned in a history book
It's not what they taught me
Folk lore, folk lore, folk lore
Momma never told you
Folk lore, folk lore, folk lore
Momma never told you

[Verse 2]
Now the women scream for equal rights
And man wants to have an affair
Children learn to hate the world
No one seems to care
Now the kids play vids instead
Their heroes are living on Wonder Bread

[Chorus]
Lesson I learned in a history book
Lesson I learned in a history book
It's not what they taught me
Folk lore, folk lore, folk lore
Momma never told you
Folk lore, folk lore, folk lore
Momma never told you that
[Outro]
Some things never change
Some things stay the same
Some things rearrange
One thing I know for sure
Heroes always die