(Don Henley/Stan Lynch/John Corey/Paul Gurian)
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It was pretty big year for fashion
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A lousy year for rock and roll
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The people gave their blessing to crimes of passion
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It was a dark, dark night of the collective soul
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And I was somewhere out on riverside by the el royale hotel
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When a stranger appeared in a cloud of smoke
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I thought I knew him all too well
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He said now that I have your attention
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I got something I wanna say
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You may not wanna hear it, I'm gonna tell it to you anyway
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You know I've always like you boy
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Cause you were not afraid of me
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Things are gonna get mighty rough here in gomorrah-by-the-sea
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Ya said it's just like home
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It's so damn hot I can't stand it
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My fine seersucker suit is all soaking wet
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And the hills are burning
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And the wind is raging
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And the clock strikes midnight in the garden of Allah
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In the garden of Allah
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Nice car
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Ah, I love those bavarians
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So meticulous
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Y'know I remember when things were a lot more fun around here
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When good was good and evil was evil
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Before things got so fuzzy
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I was once a golden boy like you
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And I was summoned to the halls of power in the heavenly courts
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And I dined with the deities who looked upon me with favor,
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For my talents, my creativity
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And we sat beneath the palms
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In the warm afternoons and drank the wine
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With fitzgerald and huxley
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And they pawned the biting phrase from the tongues hot with blood
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And drained their pins of bitter ink
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Vainly reaching for the bottle full of empty edens
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Branded especially for the ones who had come with great expectations
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To the perfumed halls of Allah, for their time in the sun
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And we were stokin' the fires and oilin' up the machinery
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Until the gods found out we had ideas of our own
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And war was coming and the earth was shaking
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And there was no more ruin in the garden of Allah
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Today I made an appearance downtown
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I am an expert witness because I say I am
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And I said gentlemen, and I use that world loosely
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I will testify for you, I'm a gun for hire,I'm a saint, I'm a liar
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Because there are no facts, there is no truth
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Just data to be manipulated
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I can get you any result you like
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What's it worth to you?
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Because there is no wrong, there is no right
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And I sleep very well at night
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No shame, no solution, no remorse, no retribution
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Just people selling t-shirts
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Just opportunity to participate in the pathetic little circus
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And winning, winning, winning
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It was pretty big year for predators
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The marketplace was on a roll
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And the land of opportunity
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Spawned a whole new breed of men without souls
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This year notoriety got all confused with fame
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And the devil is downhearted babe, cause
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There's nothing left for him to claim
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He said it's just like home
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It's so low-down I can't stand it
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I guess my work around here has all been done
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And the fruit is rotten, the serpent's eyes shine
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As he wraps around the vine,
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In the garden of Allah
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In the garden of Allah
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In the garden of Allah
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The Garden Of Allah
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Don Henley |