G
I been walking a tightrope between fact and fiction
Em
I been wrestling with demons in small bottled prisons
C
I been talking with sinners who claim to be Christian
D
I been shouting at leaders who claim to be listening


G
& the pendulum swings from the left to the right
Em
and momentum increases the need for the fight
C
Like a moment of blindness in a lifetime of sight
D                              G
& I am caught somewhere in the middle


G
I saw a president blind to the needs of his people
Em
I saw a camel that passed through the eye of a needle
C
I saw a group of old men whose money was evil
D
I saw a cross breaking free from the cage of a steeple
G
I saw beggars and cripples dying in squalor
Em
I saw a son whose sins had exceeded his father
C
I saw a nation of sleepers whose dreams were forgotten
D
& a bushel of apples from a tree that was rotten


G
& the pendulum swings from the left to the right
Em
as momentum increases the need for the fight
C
Like a blindfold when its time to walk towards the light
D                            G
& I am lost somewhere in the middle


G
I heard the echo of suffering in the valley of laughter
Em
I heard the rumble of earthquakes far under the water
C
heard a court jester whose forked tongue was twisted
D
Who told us of dangers that never existed
G
I heard voices that claimed to be moral and righteous
Em
Whose lies and deceit were all dark and contagious
C
I heard talk of a country that valued its freedom
D
But when I protested I was arrested and beaten


G
& the pendulum swings from the left to the right
Em
As momentum increases the weight and the height
C
But if nobody's listening, is anyone right?
D                                     G
& I can't seem to find the key to the riddle


G
I met a young woman with a baby inside her
Em
I looked but there wasn't a safe place to hide her
C
I met an old man with a face like a mirror
D
He showed me his sadness so I could see clearer


G
I met an arrogant leader who robs us and cheats us
Em
He pretends that his orders come directly from Jesus
C
When he sends out our children to strange foreign soil
D
To kill for the right to monopolize oil


G
I'm a raising my voice 'gainst the house of derision
Em
That murders our freedom with short-sighted vision
C
I'll sing a new song about civilization
D
& the palace of wisdom and the death of a nation


G
I'll lift up the veil that's hiding the holy
Em
& remind all the people that change happens slowly
C
I'll scream out a name to the echoes of Heaven
D
& pray that the world don't end up where its heading


G
& the pendulum swings from the left to the right
Em
as momentum decreases the end is in sight
C
There's a lunatic handling our future tonight
D                            G
& I am lost somewhere in the middle