are you caught up in a rat race
tightrope walking without a net.
have the wheels of progress run you over
left you feeling like road kill.
did you reach for that brass ring
… fall off the carousel.
did you follow all the rules
believing you had a chance
to break the moldings of society
and turn out different then everybody else.
have you finally broke thru the looking glass
and come face to face with yourself.
the prophet sleeps down in the bowery,
tired of his predictions coming true.
empty bottles that surround him
prove wisdom and knowledge are two different things.
inside the shadows of obscurity
professors hand out Ph.D’s
sealed on the back of road maps
explaining the logic of intolerance.
does my simple English confuse
what all drunk prophets understand.
ahh, fools are a long time coming
on this road to fortune and fame.
Father John never gave a sermon,
he spoke straight from the heart.
he’d always have those church doors open
for strangers needing shelter from the storm.
a few came inside to pray,
most came inside to rest.
i came looking for an answer
and Father John explained,
“faith and religion my son
they are not the same…
inside the things you can not prove
ahh, there’s the proof itself”.
i was caught up in my madness,
you told everyone i was insane
for believing words of love could heal
wounds of hatred that cut so deep.
and while you beat on that dead horse
i was down on my knees
picking up the silver coins
you had cast into my face.
where you hoping to buy my silence
thinking i would just go away.
leaving you with no memory
of how a sinner prays.
© Michael de Jong ® Dutch Uncle Music STEMRA 2009
