For God and Country

how ready are you
to die for an ideal
what's the connection,
between a lie and what is real
Mother Superior

I've got an angel on my back
I'm one of the righteous
and I'm never going back
no, no, no
I'm never going back

who's that shining forth-right man
about to die behind me
he's waiting for the portress to
send me head over heels
who's that black-heart four-star
general walking up the hill
to ask the liberals nicely
to help, finance his private war

and if I didn't trust that man
when he puts the rifle in your hand
sings you songs of pageantry and grace
and how much you want to bet
on the other side
there's a man with twice your pride
and they put you feet first in an
unmarked grave

there was a time in our history
when we justified by saying
our destinies manifest
now imperialism is the mantra
of the west

see that trigger happy
college boys, love a chance
to try out their new toys
then they wash the city streets
clean, with the blood of infidels

as the fabric of democracy
left tattered in the dust
we could put, another greedy man
into the dictatorial
puppet-show, now
tell me, who do you trust
who do you trust

and an abominable hemisphere
would perpetuate a heart-whole
atmosphere
call it a threat
to national security
call it just a poor-sick face
one more place,
to export cheap labor

hail the monarchy
hail the oligarchy
a potential for anarchy
and we pat ourselves
firmly on the back

used to be like her we were one and the same
i used to hold her i used to know her name
out on the water i feel her once again
i used to be like her i used to call her friend

she was a lost child running way too fast
no matter where she went she could not get away
there's a voice reverberating deep inside my head
telling me i should have made her stay

'cause now there's no one but me
and i feel the sting

there was a time she was beautiful
she had so much life to give
but now all i remember is the broken shell
i see in my nightmares
i can hardly recognize her

doesn't it feel good
doesn't the sting feel good

it was a day like any other
my son he turned to me and said
father wherever did we go so wrong
i thought it over for a minute and said

son for twelve years
there was a circus

sometimes i want to dream my life away
and other times it all seems wrong
still other days i want to throw my life away
that's when i know i don't belong

now when i'm down some people ask me
just when and where my luck did change
i smile and say the eighties broke my spirit
'cause when the circus came to town
i was in it's way

this charade is not for me
just put aside what i think it means to me
just put aside my eccentricities
there's nothing for me in this one horse town
at least until the circus came around

can he make friends
of the most bitter enemies
i'll believe it when i see it's what i say

can he assuage
our moral discontentment
i'll believe it on that unlikely day

i believe that christian science may have something good to offer
but i too believe it falls well short of a pipeline to god
at our best we are creatures of volition
but when we falter in adjunction we relinquish all control

i met a man of god
he tried his best to tell me
my human fallabilities equate directly into sin

his philosophy
carried no weight with me
his jaded mind won't let the truth find it's way in

how does it feel?
can he replace all those days in hiding

is it real?
how many nights have you slept with regret

it's so sad
when no one is waiting to meet you

but the voices
the voices of what might have been

remember when you disconnected
with such high hopes but still rejected
i know i've been there

you thought something outside would always fix you
you should know by now it'll always trick you
i know how it feels

it was all just boys and girls
making the most of a fucked up world
left with nothing left insane
live fast, die young, feel no pain
why can't you open those eyes
wasted living your daydream dies
you've disconnected from all that you know
why?

mom and dad let you out at night
if you're back by one it'll be all right
and you're safe now
safe from the world

but those nights won't stay the same
there's no more time for fun and games
and your habits are all wearing you down

reason is gone
this brain is out of practice
thinking is alien
it's alien to me

the day is through the lights are off and i'm alone again
electrons comfort me the television is my only friend

there was a time that i swore
this would never happen to me

i look for inspiration like i've done so many times
there's something missing here i can't define
would you like to come to a place inside my head
or would you like to watch me fall asleep instead

indecision, television
takes my mind away
growing stronger how much longer
will things be this way

i look at my close friends they wear expressions of concern
they don't want me to forget all that they think i've learned
i've explained my situation but why can't they see
friday's just another night for me

now there's a feeling that i get when i'm at peace with all i see
and it's a rare time that i spend with no one else around but me
these moments are so precious now
getting better just like wine
but wine won't make me happy

there was a time i thought it would
i thought it could i thought it should
now turned around i'm looking down
there's nothing there but i can still
see myself a lonely boy