A In the fire blue forests, faded and
I crawled the cotton fields, picking for cotton D The overseer sneered, his was rotten A ecstasy. F#m Im child-like terror I out the tap roots Bm Cards of the lash were calling to follow E7 I dashed for the swamps, the hounds in hot D a Jealously. C#7 f#m All through the night a 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 would until they believed that I was dead E a But I'd never their names 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 been to the soldiers E When in do as the romans do.
Frail and afraid in the of the morning The snakes and the spiders sadly performing The bark of the dogs kept up the the wood. Sweating and swearing I from the manger The highway appeared to me from danger Is there anyone here who pick up a stranger? Oh I you could. Then someone replied "would you like a " "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 we took off in a spin Oh I smashed his skull Oh thank you my friend, I so good. And all the ladies So and so true, Have been to the soldiers in rome do as the romans do.
Late in the evening I to the city I fell to the sidewalks for pity A diamond was from the hands of the pretty To be so kind. and corpses were busy competing The rhymes of the riots busy repeating I to the corner and sped(? ) from the speeding To my mind. and locks, companies of cops ran from the rain There was silk in the stores for the of the whores shone with shame. I for a light from a priest in the night Then I the flames. And the all stood still To see if someone had been I was to leave a thrill So far behind. And all the high-born So and so true, Have been to the soldiers When in do as the romans do.
A monk and his mother were so dandy A nun was handing out candy The beautiful broke out the brandy The we crave. They and stammered, would I feel like staying We to our knees, feverishly praying The salt in the salt-peter to be saying Be brave, be brave. I reached reached for a robe, I preached and I And I the tune. And the greed for the was played to the hilt As I doom I with their fears, until coins and tears filled the room Then I took off down the Laughing madly a toad God bless every soul That be saved. And all the ladies So and so true, been handed to the soldiers When in do as the romans do.
A chorus of children were passing the I joined in their fun and them my flowers Covered with kisses and with showers That repaid. Taken and trusting, would I be their She so appealing, I wanted to touch her Just out of reach, to reach her Their were raised. Charmed by the chalk, the lessons were taught, the class They studied the rules of the schools, they had to pass The was adjourned, the lessons were learned, I on the gas And I watched them make pleas They passed the test with I them their degrees, made the grade. And all the high-born So and so true, Have been handed to the When in rome do as the do.
my weakness, a coward for company I joined the of the hot and hungry To teach it means to have love for your country We away. We lowered our lives for the of a border We danced the mothers, played with the daughters We our fantasies, following orders It was play. After the war the bullets were bored so we capped the With cynical we put them on trial to place the blame Now kind of beast would love such a feast you no shame? So we hung the by the Oh, we shot in the street Oh, the was sweet On day. And all the ladies So and so true, Have been handed to the in rome do as the romans do.
The bread and the circuses came to be The saviour or must be appearing and pageants were all disappearing my head. The stones on the statues were and stalling and cassius were cursing and calling The empire had risen and now it was Or so it seemed. The and the cross seemed empty and lost in dark despair And luminous lies, death in disguise everywhere The canvas was cold, the story was old, I said my Then I crowned him on the Oh, I blessed him as he Oh at last, the king is God the queen. And all the ladies So and so true, Have handed to the soldiers When in do as the romans do.
Now remained for building or burning The of lovers 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 through the roads and the ruins I remembered My hands at my I sadly surrendered Do as you please. The was home, proven and grown, I fell on the floor Mad with romance they started to dance, their star was I bled like the rain, exploded in pain, then I screamed for Oh, make me sublime Release me my mind Oh, kill me one more And set me free. And all the ladies So and so true, Have been to the soldiers When in rome do as the do.