You Know It's Dark When Atheists Start to Pray

Joey was a man from the other side
Came across the sea for a better life
When he got close they made him change his name

Push along a cart through the market place
Keep it in your heart when you're getting spades
But that was so many years ago

I lived in many places, I've fallen out of graces
I tried to feed the fire for so long

Hey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my way

A Nietzsche mustache and a peasant's hat
Five hungry kids in a water flat
Maybe I'll make a little more today

A new world dream and some old school pride
He couldn't make a meet so he took his life
I saw a photograph and made memories in my mind

I've fallen out of graces, I've ran so many races
I tried to breathe the fire for so long

Hey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my way

Well he was on the blacklist in '53
And he talked about the conspiracy
He said the next war is gonna blow us all away

I played in churches and I prayed in bars
A young kid with a sad guitar
To get close I had to go far away

Well I became a drifter
Sent postcards to my sister
And I can hear her smile even when I'm far away

Hey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my way

Well I drank with kings and danced with whores
On mountain tops and distant shores
But you made me feel like someone I wished to be

I tried to wear my father's clothes
I planted seeds that didn't grow
With a handful of thorns I thought that I was free

Worked in a bank, drove a diesel van
Even Sonny Wortzik had a plan
Do your time and get out of society

Hey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my way

Now you're sitting in an office, you've never seen the world
Gonna blame it on the government or a girl
But there's somewhere else you know you'd rather be

Scratching off the numbers in a liquor store
Dreaming of picking up a '44
Tell me more about your fantasy

Hey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my way

From Spanish Harlem to Ditmas Park
A lonely game of court and spark
I wrote a song, I figured it's the only way

While the girls from school all married stiffs
WIth a flat screen and couple kids
And they say a prayer in their own little way

Well a friend of mine became a priest
And we lost another in the Middle East
Well, you know it's dark when atheists start to pray

Hey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my way

Boxes in the corner neatly stacked
Parts of me, paper and wax
For a headline day to ride in that Cadillac

And when it's over and I've had my fill
They're gonna put my body up on Cypress Hill
Near Houdini for the final disappearing act

Hey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my way

Hey man, whatcha doing
All along the road to ruin
You know it's dark when Atheists start to pray

From the fox holes to the quarter
Got your mojo workin'
Or whatever you believe in, all your voodoo
Well, the river runs deep and the river runs wide