The Mercy Seat

It began when they come took me from my home

And put me in dead row,

Of which I am nearly wholly innocent, you know.

And Ill say it again

I..am..not..afraid..to..die.

I began to warm and chill

To objects and their fields,

A ragged cup, a twisted mop

The face of jesus in my soup

Those sinister dinner meals

The meal trolleys wicked wheels

A hooked bone rising from my food

All things either good or ungood.

And the mercy seat is waiting

And I think my head is burning

And in a way Im yearning

To be done with all this measuring of truth.

An eye for an eye

A tooth for a tooth

And anyway I told the truth

And Im not afraid to die.

Interpret signs and catalogue

A blackened tooth, a scarlet fog.

The walls are bad. black. bottom kind.

They are sick breath at my hind

They are sick breath at my hind

They are sick breath at my hind

They are sick breath gathering at my hind

I hear stories from the chamber

How christ was born into a manger

And like some ragged stranger

Died upon the cross

And might I say it seems so fitting in its way

He was a carpenter by trade

Or at least thats what Im told

Like my good hand i

Tatooed e.v.i.l. across its brothers fist

That filthy five! they did nothing to challenge or resist.

In heaven his throne is made of gold

The ark of his testament is stowed

A throne from which Im told

All history does unfold.

Down here its made of wood and wire

And my body is on fire

And God is never far away.

Into the mercy seat I climb

My head is shaved, my head is wired

And like a moth that tries

To enter the bright eye

I go shuffling out of life

Just to hide in death awhile

And anyway I never lied.

My kill-hand is called e.v.i.l.

Wears a wedding band thats g.o.o.d.

`tis a long-suffering shackle

Collaring all that rebel blood.

And the mercy seat is waiting

And I think my head is burning

And in a way Im yearning

To be done with all this measuring of truth.

An eye for an eye

And a tooth for a tooth

And anyway I told the truth

And Im not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is burning

And I think my head is glowing

And in a way Im hoping

To be done with all this weighing up of truth.

An eye for an eye

And a tooth for a tooth

And Ive got nothing left to lose

And Im not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is glowing

And I think my head is smoking

And in a way Im hoping

To be done with all this looks of disbelief.

An eye for an eye

And a tooth for a tooth

And anyway there was no proof

Nor a motive why.

And the mercy seat is smoking

And I think my head is melting

And in a way Im helping

To be done with all this twisted of the truth.

A lie for a lie

And a truth for a truth

And Ive got nothing left to lose

And Im not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is melting

And I think my blood is boiling

And in a way Im spoiling

All the fun with all this truth and consequence.

An eye for an eye

And a truth for a truth

And anyway I told the truth

And Im not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is waiting

And I think my head is burning

And in a way Im yearning

To be done with all this measuring of proof.

A life for a life

And a truth for a truth

And anyway there was no proof

But Im not afraid to tell a lie.

And the mercy seat is waiting

And I think my head is burning

And in a way Im yearning

To be done with all this measuring of truth.

An eye for an eye

And a truth for a truth

And anyway I told the truth

But Im afraid I told a lie.