Lazarus

Only two things you can’t avoid in life, death and taxes
My father rocked, I sat on his knee, it was a day slow as molasses
Lazarus pulled up a chair and sat facing Texas
He started to talk as soft as snow in a voice like broken glass

There are two roads in life said he that you must choose between
Be careful, though, for often things are not what they seem
The road of life leads to an altar many fall upon
The road to freedom leads to jail in Babylon

You can scream until your throat is blood at the way the world goes round
But gravity waits for no man and time pulls us all down
It matters not if you go to war or join the inquisition
What matters is that you praise the Lord and pass the ammunition

But, said I, you don’t pretend to run the underground
No, he said, but I can call the thunder down
Loose the bonds of servitude the cops await with cuffs
You can turn and run like Johnny done try to bluff

Only two things you can’t avoid in life, death and taxes
My father rocked, I sat on his knee it was a day slow as molasses
The wind whispered through the fields, the sky grew dark and gray
My father spat, crossed his legs and said it looks like rain