It began when they come took me from my home
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And put me in Dead Row,
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Of which I am nearly wholly innocent, you know.
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And I'll say it again
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I..am..not..afraid..to..die.
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I began to warm and chill
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To objects and their fields,
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A ragged cup, a twisted mop
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The face of Jesus in my soup
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Those sinister dinner meals
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The meal trolley's wicked wheels
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A hooked bone rising from my food
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All things either good or ungood.
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And the mercy seat is waiting
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And I think my head is burning
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And in a way I'm yearning
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To be done with all this measuring of truth.
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An eye for an eye
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A tooth for a tooth
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And anyway I told the truth
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And I'm not afraid to die.
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Interpret signs and catalogue
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A blackened tooth, a scarlet fog.
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The walls are bad. Black. Bottom kind.
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They are sick breath at my hind
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They are sick breath at my hind
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They are sick breath at my hind
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They are sick breath gathering at my hind
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I hear stories from the chamber
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How Christ was born into a manger
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And like some ragged stranger
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Died upon the cross
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And might I say it seems so fitting in its way
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He was a carpenter by trade
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Or at least that's what I'm told
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Like my good hand I
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tatooed E.V.I.L. across it's brother's fist
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That filthy five! They did nothing to challenge or resist.
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In Heaven His throne is made of gold
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The ark of his Testament is stowed
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A throne from which I'm told
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All history does unfold.
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Down here it's made of wood and wire
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And my body is on fire
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And God is never far away.
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Into the mercy seat I climb
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My head is shaved, my head is wired
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And like a moth that tries
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To enter the bright eye
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I go shuffling out of life
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Just to hide in death awhile
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And anyway I never lied.
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My kill-hand is called E.V.I.L.
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Wears a wedding band that's G.O.O.D.
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`Tis a long-suffering shackle
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Collaring all that rebel blood.
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And the mercy seat is waiting
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And I think my head is burning
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And in a way I'm yearning
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To be done with all this measuring of truth.
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An eye for an eye
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And a tooth for a tooth
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And anyway I told the truth
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And I'm not afraid to die.
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And the mercy seat is burning
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And I think my head is glowing
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And in a way I'm hoping
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To be done with all this weighing up of truth.
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An eye for an eye
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And a tooth for a tooth
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And I've got nothing left to lose
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And I'm not afraid to die.
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And the mercy seat is glowing
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And I think my head is smoking
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And in a way I'm hoping
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To be done with all this looks of disbelief.
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An eye for an eye
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And a tooth for a tooth
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And anyway there was no proof
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Nor a motive why.
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And the mercy seat is smoking
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And I think my head is melting
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And in a way I'm helping
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To be done with all this twisted of the truth.
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A lie for a lie
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And a truth for a truth
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And I've got nothing left to lose
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And I'm not afraid to die.
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And the mercy seat is melting
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And I think my blood is boiling
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And in a way I'm spoiling
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All the fun with all this truth and consequence.
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An eye for an eye
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And a truth for a truth
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And anyway I told the truth
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And I'm not afraid to die.
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And the mercy seat is waiting
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And I think my head is burning
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And in a way I'm yearning
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To be done with all this measuring of proof.
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A life for a life
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And a truth for a truth
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And anyway there was no proof
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But I'm not afraid to tell a lie.
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And the mercy seat is waiting
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And I think my head is burning
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And in a way I'm yearning
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To be done with all this measuring of truth.
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An eye for an eye
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And a truth for a truth
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And anyway I told the truth
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But I'm afraid I told a lie.
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-----------------
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The Mercy Seat
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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds |