End Of The Innocence

"a new age is dawning
On fewer than expected
Business is usual"
That's how the headline read
Some shaky modern saviors
Have now been resurrected
In all this excitement
You may have been misled
People want a miracle
They say "oh lord, can't you see us?
We're tryin' to make a livin' down here
And keep the children fed"
But, from little dark motel rooms
To "six flags over jesus"
"how are the mighty fallen"
So the bible said
You don't have to pray to a little tin god
Step out of the way for a little tin god
You might fear the reaper, you might fear the rod
But you never have to get down on your knees
You don't have to holler, "please, please"
No, you never have to get down on your knees
For a little tin god
The cowboy's name was "jingo"
And he knew that there was trouble
So in a blaze of glory
He rode out of the west
No one was ever certain
What it was that he was sayin'
But they loved it when he told them
They were better than the rest
But you don't have to pray for a little tin god
Step out of the way for a little tin god
You might hate to system, hate the job
But you never have to get down on your knees
You don't have to holler, "please, please"
No, you never have to get down on your knees
For a little tin god
Throw down a rope from heaven
And lead the flock to water
The man in the middle would have you think
That you have no other choice
But to wander in the wilderness
Of all the upturned faces
If you stop and listen long enough
You will hear your own small voice
But you don't have to pray to a little tin god
Step out of the way for a little tin god
You might fear the reaper, fear the rod
But you never have to get down on your knees
You don't have to holler, "please, please"
No, you never have to get down on your knees
You don't have to holler, "please, please"
You never have to get down on your knees
For a little tin god

Baby picks off your plate-yours looks better
And she throws hers on the floor
Here, in the home of the brave
And the land of the free
The first word that baby learns is "more"
So you're out there floating like a big, puffy cloud
With the pool and the charcoal
And the kids and the wife
'til the reruns of your dreams are interrupted
And you step out into life

And it's still gimme, gimme what you got
I said gimme, gimme what you got
(i want it, i want it)
Gimme, gimme what you got
Now it's take and take and takeover, takeover
It's all take and never give
All these trumped up towers
They're just golden showers
Where are people supposed to live?
You can arm yourself, alarm yourself
But there's nowhere you can run
'cause a man with a briefcase
Can still more money
Than any man with a gun
I said gimme, gimme what you got
Said gimme, gimme what you got
Gimme, gimme what you got
Gimme, gimme what you got
You got the price of admission
You don't have to ask permission
To take somethin' from another man
You cross a lawyer with the godfather, baby
Make you an offer that you can't understand
From main street to wall street to washington
From men to women to men
It's a nation of noses pressed up against the glass
They've seen it on the tv
And they want it pretty fast
You spend your whole life
Just pilin' it up there
You got stack and stacks and stacks
Then, gabriel comes and taps you on the shoulder
But you don't see no hearses with luggage racks
Gimme, gimme what you got
I said gimme, gimme what you got
I said gimme, gimme what you got
(i want it, i want it)
Gimme, gimme what you got

Walkin' like a millionaire
Smilin' like a king
He leaned his shopping cart against the wall
He said, "i been a lot of places
And i seen a lot of things
But, sonny, i seen one thing that beats 'em all
I was flyin' back from lubbock
I saw jesus on the plane
...or maybe it was elvis
You know, they kinda look the same
Hey, look out, junior, you're steppin' on my bed"
I said, "i don't see nothin"
He just glared at me and said,
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
I wouldn't worry anymore
Lookin' like a beauty queen
Loyal as a wife
She raised her little voice and testified,
"i am a good girl
I've been one all my life"
But her virtue was as swollen as her pride
She should've had the oscar
She must have been miscast
Her fifteen minutes went by so fast
I said, "now, baby, have you got no shame?"
She just looked at me, uncomprehendingly
Like cows at a passing train
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
I wouldn't worry anymore
We got the bully pulpit
And the poisoned pen
We got a press no better
Than the public men
This brave new world
Gone bad again
God's finest little creatures
Looking brave and strong
Whistling past the graveyard
Nothing can go wrong
Quoting from the scriptures
With patriotic tears
We got the same old men
With the same old fears
Standing at attention
Wrapped in stars and stripes
They hear the phantom drummers
And the nonexistent pipes
These days the buck stops nowhere
No one takes the blame
But evil is still evil
In anybody's name
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
We'd all be in the black

You're leavin' tongue marks on the carpet
And i know what you're lookin' at
You would walk on your lips through busted glass
If you could get next to that
You think this is love
Your education starts today
So you think this is love?
So tell me
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
Not bad enough
So you put a hold on happiness
....a day, a week, a year
You got to bring somethin' to this party, boy
If you party here
And if you're lookin' for love
You better look some other way
If you're lookin' for love
I have to ask you
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
Not bad enough
She gave you love and affection
Enough to weather any season
You found an excuse to walk away
But you didn't find no reason
And you talk about love
But you don't know what it means
Yeah, you talk about love
So tell me
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
Not bad enough

Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn't have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standing by
When "happily ever after" fails
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly
But i know a place where we can go
That's still untouched by man
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
O' beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They're beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie
But i know a place where we can go
And wash away this sin
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Who knows how long this will last
Now we've come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say good bye
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence