A In the fire blue forests, and forgotten
I crawled through the cotton fields, for cotton D The sneered, his whipping was rotten A ecstasy. F#m Im terror I tore out the tap roots Bm Cards of the lash were to follow suit E7 I for the swamps, the hounds in hot pursuit D a Jealously. C#7 f#m All through the a figure of fright, as I hid my head C#7 f#m And the their nose in a cut of my cloths, now torn in shreds C#7 b And they never leave until they believed that I was dead E a But I'd never their names E a Oh, who am I to E a I I'd do the same B Endlessly. C#m And all the ladies F#m So and so true, B Have handed to the soldiers E When in rome do as the do.
Frail and afraid in the mists of the The snakes and the were sadly performing The bark of the dogs kept up the the wood. Sweating and I crawled from the manger The highway appeared to take me from Is there anyone here who would up a stranger? Oh I you could. someone replied "would you like a ride? " "come in" he said. We drove for a while, he me a smile and a piece of bread The was hard in the chrome of the car as I cracked his head we took off in a spin Oh I smashed his skull Oh you my good friend, I so good. And all the high-born So and so true, Have handed to the soldiers in rome do as the romans do.
Late in the evening I came to the I fell to the sidewalks for pity A was dropped from the hands of the pretty To be so kind. and corpses were busy competing The rhymes of the riots busy repeating I raced to the and sped(? ) from the speeding To my mind. Latches and locks, companies of cops ran from the There was silk in the for the whims of the whores That with shame. I asked for a from a priest in the night Then I the flames. And the traffic all stood To see if someone had killed I was to leave a thrill So far behind. And all the ladies So and so true, Have handed to the soldiers in rome do as the romans do.
A monk and his mother dancing so dandy A nun was handing out candy The beautiful bishop out the brandy The we crave. They stuttered and stammered, would I like staying We fell to our knees, feverishly The salt in the salt-peter to be saying Be brave, be brave. I reached reached for a robe, I preached and I And I the tune. And the for the gills was played to the hilt As I promised I toyed with their fears, until coins and tears filled the I took off down the road Laughing like a toad God bless every soul That be saved. And all the ladies So and so true, Have handed to the soldiers in rome do as the romans do.
A of children were passing the hours I joined in fun and gave them my flowers Covered kisses and showered with showers they repaid. Taken and trusting, would I be their She so appealing, I wanted to touch her out of reach, unable to reach her Their hands raised. by the chalk, the lessons were taught, inside the class They studied the rules of the schools, they had to pass The was adjourned, the lessons were learned, I on the gas And I watched them make pleas They passed the with ease I them their degrees, made the grade. And all the ladies So and so true, been handed to the soldiers When in rome do as the do.
Feeling my weakness, a coward for I joined the ranks of the hot and To teach what it means to love for your country We away. We our lives for the lines of a border We danced with the mothers, played with the We our fantasies, following orders It was play. After the war the bullets were bored so we capped the With cynical we put them on trial to place the blame Now what of beast would love such a feast Have you no So we hung the by the Oh, we shot them in the Oh, the victory was On day. And all the ladies So and so true, Have been handed to the When in rome do as the do.
The bread and the circuses to be nearing The saviour or somebody be appearing and pageants were all disappearing my head. The stones on the statues were and stalling Caesar and cassius cursing and calling The empire had and now it was falling Or so it seemed. The crown and the cross seemed empty and lost in despair And luminous lies, death in disguise everywhere The canvas was cold, the story was old, I my prayers Then I crowned him on the Oh, I blessed him as he Oh at last, the king is God the queen. And all the high-born So and so true, Have been handed to the When in do as the romans do.
Now nothing for building or burning The losing of lovers was all I was A time for escape and a for returning had come to me Back through the ashes and back through the Back through the and the ruins I remembered My hands at my side I surrendered Do as you please. The hero was home, proven and grown, I fell on the Mad with romance they started to dance, their star was I bled like the rain, exploded in pain, then I for more Oh, make me sublime Release me from my Oh, kill me one more And set me free. And all the high-born So and so true, Have been to the soldiers When in rome do as the do.