It Won't Take Long

They said some men would be warriors and some men would be kings

And some men would be owners of land and other man-made things

And false love as the eternal flame would move some to think in rings

And gold would be our power and other foolish things

But you who dream of liberty must not yourselves be fooled

Before you get to plea for freedom, you've agreed to being ruled

If the body stays a shackle then the mind remains a chain

That'll link you to a destiny whereby all good souls are slain

And it won't take long, it won't take too long at all

It won't take long, and you may say

"What has that got to do with me" and I say,

"You mean to tell me that's all?"

Of three men in a desert wandering, one is knowing and two are scared

They say time is in the river, but the river is not there

Dry in spirit dry in body two will lend themselves to death

And in grief one weeps into his hands and drinks his bitter tears

'Cause it don't take long, it don't take too long at all

It don't take long, and you may say,

"I don't know what you're talking about," and I say

"You mean to tell me that's all?"

And as I stand before you now, I am hopeful in my rage

You know love has finally called for me, I will not wilt upon its stage

But still smaller than my nightmare now do I print upon the page

Do we have to live inside its walls to identify the cage?

'Cause it takes so long, why does it take so long,

But it takes so long, and you may say,

"I don't really care what you're talking about," and I say,

"Are you trying to say you don't belong?"

I am my mother's daughter, but I have seen myself in you

It's this blessing that I follow now, and so I must speak true

I dreamed of thousands dying, it was you and you and you,

And while the city sleeps so quietly there is something we must do

And it won't take long, it won't take too long at all,

It won't take long, and you may say,

"I don't know if I wanna know what you're getting at,"

And it makes we wanna say, "So long."

Because grief will come in measures, only grief alone will know

And you'll see it on your family, on your own face it will grow

And they'll try to keep you hungry, then they'll tell you to eat snow

You know pride can be a moving thing if we learn the strength of "NO!"

And it won't take long, it won't take too long at all,

It won't take long, and you may say,

"I don't think this has anything to do with me,"

"But did you ever think you could be wrong?"

At noon on one day coming, human strength will fill the streets

Of every city on our planet, hear the sound of angry feet

With business freezed up in the harbour, the kings will pull upon their

hair

And the banks will shudder to a halt, and the artists will be there

'Cause it won't take long, it won't take too long at all,

It won't take long, and you may say,

"I don't think I can be a part of that," and it makes me want to say,

"Don't you want to see yourself that strong?"

Division between the peoples will disappear that honoured day

And though oceans lie between us, lifted candles light the way

Half will join their hands by moonlight, the rest under a rising sun

As underneath the sun and moon, a ritual'd wailing has begun

And it won't take long, it won't take too long at all,

It won't take long, and you may say,

"I don't know how to be a part of what you're talking about," and it makes

me want to say, "Come on!"

And be