He was standin' on the corner A hundred dollar bill in his hand Said I could feed a lot of these people with this But that ain't the business at hand Ain't but one reason for a white boy to be Over on this side of town He gave that money to the man and he Bought a little mercy for now Have mercy on me Have mercy on me I'm a sinner Lord can't you see Have mercy on me Old Joe don't know how it got started I guess it was the fire in her eyes He loved his wife and children And he wasn't into telling all these lies But she gave herself so freely In that room at the top of the stairs He'd go to her in hope he'd find a little mercy there Tears were made to fall Hearts made to break Sometimes it feels Like they just want to know How much you can take She was all alone that evening What was she thinking about Her mind was made up and I guess it was the only way out There's a pistol in a pawn shop window Made of cold, blue steel She took it home to find out How warm a little mercy could feel God knows that mercy ain't free Have mercy on me