lyrics

i've been listening to this song like a madwoman. it's paul simon. it's good.

you can listen to it if you click the paul simon link. it's the fifth track on the listing.


wartime prayers

prayers offered in times of peace are silent conversations.
appeals for love, or love's release.
in private invocations.
but all that is changed now.
gone like a memory from the day before the fires.

people hungry for the voice of God hear lunatics and liars.
wartime prayers.
wartime prayers in every language spoken.
for every family scattered and broken.

because you cannot walk with the holy if you're just a halfway decent man,
i don't pretend that i'm a mastermind with a genius marketing plan.
i'm trying to tap into some wisdom.
even a little drop will do.
i want to rid my heart of envy,
and cleanse my soul of rage before i'm through.

times are hard.
it's a hard time, but everybody knows.
all about hard times, the things is,
what are you gonna do?
well, you cry
and try to muscle through.
try to rearrange your stuff.
but when the wounds are deep enough
and it's all that we can bear, we wrap ourselves.
in prayer.

because you cannot walk with the holy if you're just a halfway decent man,
i don't pretend that i'm a mastermind with a genius marketing plan.
i'm trying to tap into some wisdom.
even a little drop will do.
i want to rid my heart of envy
and cleanse my soul of rage before i'm through.

a mother murmurs in twilight sleep
and draws her babies closer.
with hush-a-byes for sleepy eyes, and kisses on the shoulder.
to drive away despair
she says a wartime prayer.