A In the fire blue forests, faded and
I crawled through the fields, picking for cotton D The overseer sneered, his was rotten A ecstasy. F#m Im terror I tore out the tap roots Bm Cards of the lash calling to follow suit E7 I dashed for the swamps, the in hot pursuit 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 in shreds C#7 b And they never would until they believed that I was dead E a But I'd never curse their E a Oh, who am I to E a I know I'd do the B Endlessly. C#m And all the ladies F#m So and so true, B Have handed to the soldiers E When in rome do as the do.
and afraid in the mists of the morning The snakes and the spiders were sadly The bark of the kept up the warning the wood. Sweating and swearing I crawled the manger The highway to take me from danger Is there anyone who would pick up a stranger? Oh I you could. Then someone "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 his head Then we took off in a Oh I smashed his skull Oh you my good friend, I so good. And all the high-born So and so true, Have handed to the soldiers When in do as the romans do.
Late in the evening I to the city I fell to the sidewalks sighing for A diamond was dropped the hands of the pretty To be so kind. and corpses were busy competing The rhymes of the riots were busy I to the corner 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 of the whores That with shame. I asked for a from a priest in the night I fanned the flames. And the all stood still To see if someone had been I was glad to a thrill So far behind. And all the high-born So and so true, Have been to the soldiers in rome do as the romans do.
A monk and his mother were dancing so A nun was handing out candy The beautiful broke out the brandy The we crave. They stuttered and stammered, would I feel like We fell to our knees, feverishly The salt in the seemed to be saying Be brave, be brave. I reached reached for a robe, I and I probed And I the tune. And the greed for the gills was played to the 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 been handed to the in rome do as the romans do.
A of children were passing the hours I in their fun and gave them my flowers Covered with kisses and with showers That repaid. Taken and trusting, would I be teacher? She looked so appealing, I wanted to her Just out of reach, unable to her Their were raised. by the chalk, the lessons were taught, inside the class They studied the rules of the samurai schools, they had to The was adjourned, the lessons were learned, I on the gas And I watched them make their They passed the test ease I gave them degrees, made the grade. And all the high-born So and so true, Have handed to the soldiers When in do as the romans do.
Feeling my weakness, a coward for I joined the ranks of the hot and To teach what it means to have love for country We away. We lowered our lives for the of a border We danced with the mothers, played the daughters We followed our fantasies, orders It was play. After the war the bullets were so we capped the game With cynical smiles we put on trial to place the blame Now what of beast would love such a feast you no shame? So we hung the by the Oh, we them in the street Oh, the victory was On day. And all the high-born So and so true, Have handed to the soldiers When in rome do as the do.
The bread and the came to be nearing The saviour or somebody must be Pagans and pageants all disappearing my head. The stones on the statues were staring and Caesar and were cursing and calling The empire had risen and now it was Or so it seemed. The crown and the cross seemed empty and lost in dark And luminous lies, death in disguise everywhere The was cold, the story was old, I said my prayers I crowned him on the head Oh, I blessed him as he Oh at last, the king is God the queen. And all the high-born So and so true, Have been handed to the in rome do as the romans do.
Now nothing remained for building or The of lovers was all I was learning A time for escape and a time for had come to me Back the ashes and back through the embers through the roads and the ruins 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 to dance, their star was born I bled like the rain, in pain, then I screamed for more Oh, make me feel me from my mind Oh, me one more time And set me free. And all the high-born So and so true, Have been handed to the When in rome do as the do.