Am
   We left our home by dark of night
G
   Joseph and my boy and I
F
   When all the gunmen were asleep
   E
We slipped into the forest

[Verse 2]
Am
   We left everything behind
G
   Joseph and my boy and I
F
   Took only what we had to keep
        E
And the hopes they would not find us

[Verse 3]
Am
   We prayed our prayers, we broke our bread
G
   With others who had even less
F
  'Til finally all we had were dreams
       E
And we hoped that they would fill us

[Verse 4]
Am
   We lived on roots and the bark of trees
G
   Joseph and my boy and me
F
   Drank the water from the stream
    E
And hoped it would not kill us

[Interlude]
Am   G   F   G

[Verse 5]
Am
   A man offered a change of luck
G
   All we had for a cargo truck
F
   With fifty others in the back
     E
They shut the door behind us

[Verse 6]
Am
   It got so hot we could not breathe
G
   Joseph and my boy and me
F
   When we arrived, the sky was black
       E
That's where I buried Joseph

[Verse 7]
Am
   The river stole away my shoes
G
   The soles of both my feet were bruised
F
   My boy lay silent in my arms
    E
His dreams were deep and soundless

[Verse 8]
Am
   The day was long, the sun was high
G
   A hammer on an anvil sky
F
   By the wall I fell and cried
    E
For death was all around us

[Interlude]
Am   G   F   G   x2

[Verse 9]
Am
   They found me there where I had slept
G
   Their handcuffs tight around my wrists
F
   Shackles tight around my legs
   E
As if I could escape you

[Verse 10]
Am
   And since I could not hold my babe
G
   You took my only boy away
F
   Though I plead and though I beg
    E
You won't say where he's gone to

[Verse 11]
Am
   I'm tired now, my eyes are dry
G
   There's only me alone tonight
F
   In a land I thought would be
E
Ours if we could make it

[Verse 12]
Am
   A land that welcomes strangers in
G
   A land that beckoned like a friend
F
   If I had the chance again
    E
I'd rather die than take it

[Verse 13]
Am
   The holy family got away
G
   A simpler time, a simpler place
F
   And Egypt stretched out it's great hand
   E
To welcome them with mercy

[Verse 14]
Am
   Now Joseph's dead out on the road
G
   My boy is gone and I don't know
F
   Where he is or where I am
     E
With every breath, it hurts me

[Interlude]
Am   G   F   G   x2

[Verse 15]
Am
   And you who stood at your great gates
G
   Watched us as we met our fate
F
   Then took our pride and stole our babes
         E
You will one day die of something

[Verse 16]
Am
   But as you rest your weary head
G
   Your family close around your bed
F
   May your thoughts all fly instead
       E
To the ones who you gave nothing

[Verse 17]
Am
   The naked one, the starving child
G
   Who crawled the final brutal miles
F
   Through blood and filth and rock and wild
       E
In the hopes of only living

[Verse 18]
Am
   May the pain within you dwell
G
   May it follow you to hell
F
   All alone in a lonely cell
   E
Forever unforgiven

[Verse 19]
Am
   May the pain within you dwell
G
   May it follow you to hell
F
   All alone in a lonely cell
   E
Forever unforgiven