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35. Oh Mercy
1. Political World
We live in a political world
Where love don't have any place
We're living in times where men commit crimes
And crime don't have a face
We live in a political world
Icicles hangin' down
Wedding bells ring and angels sing
And clouds cover up the ground
We live in a political world
Wisdom is thrown into jail
It rots in a cell misguided as hell
Leaving no one to pick up the trail
We live in a political world
Where mercy walks the plank
Life is in mirrors, death disappears
Up the steps into the nearest bank
We live in a political world
Courage is a thing of the past
Houses are haunted, children aren't wanted
Your next day could be your last
We live in a political world
The one we can see and feel
But there's no one to check, it's all a stacked deck
We all know for sure that it's real
We live in a political world
The cities are a lonesome fear
Little by little, you turn in the middle
You're never sure why you're here
We live in a political world
Under the microscope
You could travel anywhere and hang yourself there
You've always got more than enough rope
We live in a political world
Turning and a-thrashing about
As soon as you're awake you're trained to take
What looks like the easy way out
We live in a political world
Where peace is not welcome at all
It's turned away from the door to wander some more
Or put up against the wall
We live in a political world
Everything's hers and his
Climb into the flame and shout God's name
But you're not even sure what it is
2. Where Teardrops Fall
Far away where the soft winds blow
Far away from it all
There is a place you go
Where teardrops fall
Far away in the stormy night
Far away and over the wall
You are there in the flickering light
Where teardrops fall
We bang the drum slowly and play the fife lowly
You know the song in my heart
In the turning of twilight in the shadows of moonlight
You can show me a new place to start
I've torn my clothes and I've drained the cup
Strippin away at it all
Thinking of you when the sun comes up
Where teardrops fall
By rivers of blindness in love and with kindness
We can hold up a toast if we meet
To the cutting of fences to sharpen the senses
That linger in the fireball heat
Roses are red violets are blue
And time is beginning to crawl
I just might have to come see you
Where teardrops fall
3. Everything Is Broken
Broken lines, broken strings, broken threads, broken springs
Broken idols, broken heads, people sleeping in broken beds
Ain't no use jivin', ain't no use jokin'
Everything is broken
Broken bottles, broken plates, broken switches, broken gates
Broken dishes, broken parts, streets are filled with broken hearts
Broken words never meant to be spoken
Everything is broken
Seems like every time you stop and turn around
Someone else has just hit the ground
Broken cutters, broken saws, broken buckles, broken laws
Broken bodies, broken bones, broken voices on broken phones
Take a deep breath, feel like you're chokin'
Everything is broken
Every time you leave and go off some place
Things fall to pieces in my face
Broken hands on broken plows, broken treaties, broken vows
Broken pipes, broken tools, people bending broken rules
Hound dog howlin', bullfrog croakin'
Everything is broken
4. Ring Them Bells
Ring them bells ye heathen from the city that dreams
Ring them bells from the sanctuaries 'cross the valleys and streams
For they're deep and they're wide
And the world's on its side
And time is running backwards and so is the bride
Ring them bells Saint Peter where the four winds blow
Ring them bells with an iron hand so the people will know
Oh it's rush hour now
On the wheel and the plow
And the sun is going down upon the sacred cow
Ring them bells sweet Martha for the poor man's son
Ring them bells so the world will know that God is one
For the shepherd is asleep
Where the willows weep
And the mountains are filled with lost sheep
Ring them bells for the blind and the deaf
Ring them bells for all of us who are left
Ring them bells for the chosen few
Who will judge the many
When the game is through
Ring them bells for the time that flies
For the child that cries
When innocence dies
Ring them bells Saint Catherine from the top of the room
Ring them from the fortress for the lilies that bloom
For the lines are long
And the fighting is strong
And they're breaking down the distance between right and wrong
5. Man In The Long Black Coat
Crickets are chirpin', the water is high
There's a soft cotton dress on the line hangin' dry
The window's wide open, African trees
Bent over backwards from a hurricane breeze
Not a word of goodbye, not even a note
She'd gone with the man in the long black coat
Somebody seen him hangin' around
At the old dance hall on the outskirts of town
He looked into her eyes when she stopped him to ask
If he wanted to dance, he had a face like a mask
Somebody said from the Bible he'd quote
There was dust on the man in the long black coat
Preacher was a-talkin', there's a sermon he gave
He said every man's conscience is vile and depraved
You cannot depend on it to be your guide
When it's you who must keep it satisfied
It ain't easy to swallow, it sticks in the throat
She gave her heart to the man in the long black coat
There are no mistakes in life, some people say
And it's true sometimes, you can see it that way
But people don't live or die, people just float
She went with the man in the long black coat
There's smoke on the water, it's been there since June
Treetrunks uprooted 'neath the high crescent moon
Feel the pulse and vibration and the rumblin' force
Somebody is out there beating on a dead horse
She never said nothin', there was nothin' she wrote
She'd gone with the man in the long black coat
6. Most Of The Time
Most of the time I'm clear focused all around
Most of the time I can keep both feet on the ground
I can follow the path, I can read the sign
I can stay right with it, and the road unwinds
I can handle whatever I stumble upon
I don't even notice that she's gone
Most of the time
Most of the time it's well understood
Most of the time I wouldn't change it if I could
I can make it all match up, I can hold my own
I can deal with the situation right down to the bone
I can survive and I can endure
And I don't even think about her
Most of the time
Most of the time my head is on straight
Most of the time I'm strong enough not to hate
I don't build up illusion 'til it makes me sick
I ain't afraid of confusion no matter how thick
I can smile in the face of mankind
Don't even remember what her lips felt like on mine
Most of the time
Most of the time she ain't even in my mind
I wouldn't know her if I saw her, she's that far behind
Most of the time I can't even be sure
If she was ever with me or if I was ever with her
Most of the time I'm halfways content
Most of the time I know exactly where it all went
I don't cheat on myself, I don't run and hide
Hide from the feelings that I buried inside
I don't compromise and I don't pretend
I don't even care if I ever see her again
Most of the time
7. What Good Am I?
What good am I if I'm like all the rest
If I just turn away when I see how you're dressed
If I shut myself off so I can't hear you cry
What good am I
What good am I if I know and don't do
If I see and don't say, if I look right through you
If I turn a deaf ear to the thunder in the sky
What good am I
What good am I while you softly weep
And I hear in my head what you say in your sleep
And I freeze in the moment like the rest who don't try
What good am I
What good am I then to others and me
If I've had every chance and yet still fail to see
If my hands are tied, must I not wonder within
Who tied them and why, and where must I have been
What good am I if I say foolish things
And I laugh in the face of what sorrow brings
And I just turn my back when you silently die
What good am I
8. Disease Of Conceit
There's a whole lot of people suffering tonight from the disease of conceit
There's a whole lot of people struggling tonight with the disease of conceit
Comes right down the highway, straight down the line
Rips into your senses, through your body and your mind
Nothing about it that's sweet
The disease of conceit
There's a whole lot of hearts breaking tonight from the disease of conceit
There's a whole lot of hearts shaking tonight from the disease of conceit
Steps into your room, eats into your soul
Over your senses you have no control
Ain't nothing too discreet
About the disease of conceit
There's a whole lot of people dying tonight from the disease of conceit
There's a whole lot of people crying tonight from the disease of conceit
Comes right outta nowhere and you're down for the count
From the outside world the pressure will mount
Turn you into a piece of meat
The disease of conceit
Conceit is a disease but the doctors got no cure
They done a lot of research on it but what it is they're still not sure
There's a whole lot of people in trouble tonight from the disease of conceit
There's a whole lot of people seein' double tonight from the disease of conceit
If your delusions of grandeur and an evil eye
Give you the idea that you're too good to die
Then they bury you from your head to your feet
From the disease of conceit
9. What Was It You Wanted
What was it you wanted, tell me again so I know
What's happening in there, what's goin' on with your show
What was it you wanted, could you say it again
I'll be back in a minute, you can get it together by then
What was it you wanted, you can tell me, I'm back
We can start it all over, get it back on the track
You got my attention, well, go ahead, speak
What was it you wanted when you were kissing my cheek
Was there somebody looking when you gimme that kiss
Someone there in the shadows, someone that I might have missed
Is there something you needed, something I don't understand
What was it you wanted, do I have it here in my hand
Whatever you wanted slipped outta my mind
Would you remind me again, if you'd be so kind
Has the record been breaking, did the needle just skip
Is there somebody waiting, was there a slip of the lip
What was it you wanted, I ain't keeping score
Are you the same person that was here before
Is it something important, maybe not
What was it you wanted, tell me again, I forgot
Whatever you wanted, what could it be
Did somebody tell you that you could get it from me
Is it something comes natural, is is easy to say
Why do you want it, who are you anyway
Is the scenery changing, am I getting it wrong
Is the whole thing going backwards, are they playing our song
Where were you when it started, do you want it for free
What was it you wanted, are you talking to me
10. Shooting Star
Seen a shooting star tonight and I thought of you
You're trying to break into another world
A world I never knew
I always kinda wondered if you ever made it through
Seen a shooting star tonight and I thought of you
Seen a shooting star tonight and I thought of me
If I was still the same, if I ever became what you wanted me to be
Did I miss the mark, overstep the line that only you could see
Seen a shooting star tonight and I thought of me
Listen to the engine, listen to the bell
As the last firetruck from hell goes rollin' by
All good people are praying
It's the last temptation, the last account
The last time you might hear the sermon on the mount
Last radio's playing
Seen a shooting star tonight slip away
Tomorrow will be another day
Guess it's too late to say the things to you that you needed to hear me say
Seen a shooting star tonight slip away
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