I thought I'd take a walk today It's a mistake I sometimes make My kids lay asleep in bed My wife lay wide-awake Kissed her softly on the brow Tried not to make a sound But with stony eyes she looked at me And gently squeezed my hand Call it a premonition, call it a crazy vision Call it intuition, or something learned from mother But when she looked up at me, I could clearly see The Sword of Damocles hanging directly above her Oh Lord Oh my Lord Oh Lord How have I offended thee? Wrap your tender arms around me Oh Lord Oh Lord Oh My Lord
They called at me through the fence They were not making any sense They claimed that I'd lost the plot Kept saying that I was not The man I used to be They held their babes aloft Threw marsh mellows at the Security And said that I'd grown soft Call it intuition, call it a creeping suspicion, But their words of derision meant they hardly knew me For even I could see, the way they stared at me The Spear of Destiny are sticking right through me Oh Lord Oh my lord Oh Lord How have I offended thee? Wrap your tender arms round me Oh Lord Oh lord Oh My Lord
Now I'm at the hairdresser's People watch me as they move past A guy wearing plastic antlers Presses his bum against the glass Now I'm down on my hands and knees And it's so fucking hot! Someone cries, "What are you looking for?" I scream, "The plot, the plot!" I grab my telephone, I call my wife at home She screams, "Leave us alone!" I say "Hey, it's only me" The hairdresser with his scissors, he holds up the mirror I look back and shiver; I can't even believe what I can see
Be mindful of the prayers you send Pray hard but to pray with care For the tears you are crying now Are just your answered prayers The ladders of life we scale merrily Move mysteriously around So that when you think you're climbing up, man In fact you're climbing down Into the hollows of glamour, o where the spike and hammer With telescopic camera, they chose to turn the screw Oh I hate them, Ma! Oh I hate them, Pa! Oh I hate them all! For what they went and done to you Oh Lord Oh my Lord Oh Lord How have I offended thee? Wrap your tender arms round me Oh Lord Oh Lord Oh My Lord