A In the fire blue forests, and forgotten
I through the cotton fields, picking for cotton D The overseer sneered, his was rotten A ecstasy. F#m Im child-like terror I tore out the tap Bm Cards of the lash were to follow suit E7 I dashed for the swamps, the hounds in hot D a Jealously. C#7 f#m All through the a figure of fright, as I hid my head C#7 f#m And the buried their nose in a cut of my cloths, now torn in C#7 b And they never leave until they believed that I was dead E a But I'd never curse names E a Oh, who am I to E a I know I'd do the B Endlessly. C#m And all the high-born F#m So and so true, B Have handed to the soldiers E When in rome do as the do.
Frail and afraid in the mists of the The and the spiders were sadly performing The bark of the dogs up the warning the wood. Sweating and swearing I crawled the manger The highway appeared to take me from Is there here who would pick up a stranger? Oh I you could. Then replied "would you like a ride? " "come in" he said. We drove for a while, he gave me a smile and a of bread The hammer was hard in the chrome of the car as I cracked his Then we off in a spin Oh I smashed his again Oh you my good friend, I so good. And all the ladies So and so true, Have handed to the soldiers in rome do as the romans do.
Late in the I came to the city I to the sidewalks sighing for pity A diamond was from the hands of the pretty To be so kind. Cowards and corpses busy competing The rhymes of the riots busy repeating I raced to the and sped(? ) from the speeding To my mind. Latches and locks, companies of cops ran the rain There was silk in the stores for the whims of the That with shame. I asked for a light a priest in the night I fanned the flames. And the traffic all still To see if someone had been I was to leave a thrill So far behind. And all the ladies So and so true, Have been handed to the When in rome do as the do.
A monk and his mother were dancing so A topless nun was out candy The beautiful bishop broke out the The we crave. stuttered and stammered, would I feel like staying We fell to our knees, feverishly The salt in the salt-peter seemed to be Be brave, be brave. I reached for a robe, I preached and I probed And I the tune. And the greed for the gills was to the hilt As I promised I toyed their fears, until coins and tears filled the room Then I off down the road Laughing madly like a God bless every soulless That be saved. And all the ladies So and so true, Have handed to the soldiers in rome do as the romans do.
A of children were passing the hours I joined in their fun and them my flowers Covered with kisses and showered with That repaid. Taken and trusting, would I be their She looked so appealing, I to touch her Just out of reach, unable to her hands were raised. Charmed by the chalk, the were taught, inside the class They studied the rules of the samurai schools, they had to The room was adjourned, the lessons learned, I on the gas And I them make their pleas They passed the test ease I them their degrees, made the grade. And all the ladies So and so true, been handed to the soldiers When in rome do as the do.
Feeling my weakness, a coward for I joined the of the hot and hungry To teach what it to have love for your country We away. We lowered our lives for the of a border We danced with the mothers, with the daughters We followed our fantasies, orders It was play. the war the bullets were bored so we capped the game With cynical smiles we put them on to place the blame Now what kind of beast would such a feast Have you no So we the by the feet Oh, we shot them in the Oh, the victory was On day. And all the high-born So and so true, been handed to the soldiers When in do as the romans do.
The bread and the came to be nearing The or somebody must be appearing and pageants were all disappearing my head. The on the statues were staring and stalling Caesar and cassius were cursing and The empire had risen and now it was Or so it seemed. The crown and the cross seemed empty and lost in dark And lies, death in disguise were everywhere The canvas was cold, the story was old, I said my Then I crowned him on the Oh, I him as he bled Oh at last, the is dead God the queen. And all the ladies So and so true, Have handed to the soldiers When in rome do as the do.
Now remained for building or burning The losing of was all I was learning A time for and a time for returning had come to me Back through the ashes and back the embers Back through the roads and the I remembered My hands at my side I surrendered Do as you please. The hero was home, and grown, I fell on the floor Mad with romance they started to dance, star was born I bled like the rain, exploded in pain, then I for more Oh, make me feel Release me my mind Oh, kill me one more And set me free. And all the ladies So and so true, Have handed to the soldiers in rome do as the romans do.