These are the days of the open hand
They will not be the last
Look around now
These are the days of the beggars and the choosers

This is the year of the hungry man
Whose place is in the past
Hand in hand with ignorance
And legitimate excuses

The rich declare themselves poor
And most of us are not sure
If we have too much
But we'll take our chances
'Cause God's stopped keeping score
I guess somewhere along the way
He must have let us all out to play
Turned his back and all God's children
Crept out the back door

And it's hard to love, there's so much to hate
Hanging on to hope
When there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above say it's much too much too late
Well maybe we should all be praying for time

These are the days of the empty hand
Oh you hold on to what you can
And charity is a coat you wear twice a year

This is the year of the guilty man
Your television takes a stand
And you find that what was over there is over here

So you scream from behind your door
Say what's mine is mine and not yours
I may have too much but I'll take my chances
'Cause God's stopped keeping score
And you cling to the things they sold you
Did you cover your eyes when they told you
That he can't come back
'Cause he has no children to come back for

It's hard to love there's so much to hate
Hanging on to hope when there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above say it's much too late
So maybe we should all be praying for time

I won't let you down
I will not give you up
Gotta have some faith in the sound
It's the one good thing that I've got
I won't let you down
So please don't give me up
Because I would really, really love to stick around

Heaven knows I was just a young boy
Didn't know what I wanted to be
I was every little hungry schoolgirl's pride and joy
And I guess it was enough for me
To win the race? A prettier face!
Brand new clothes and a big fat place
On your rock and roll TV
But today the way I play the game is not the same 
No way
Think I'm gonna get me some happy

I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I told you so
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone else I've got to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Take back your singing in the rain
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man

All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me
Freedom
You've gotta give for what you take
Freedom
You've gotta give for what you take

Heaven knows we sure had some fun boy
What a kick just a buddy and me
We had every big shot good-time band on the run boy
We were living in a fantasy
We won the race
Got out of the place
I went back home got a brand new face
For the boys on MTV
But today the way I play the game has got to change
Oh yeah
Now I'm gonna get myself happy

I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I stopped the show
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone I forgot to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Don't think that I'll be back again
I just hope you understand 
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man

All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me
Freedom
You've gotta give for what you take
Freedom
You've gotta give for what you take

Well it looks like the road to heaven
But it feels like the road to hell
When I knew which side my bread was buttered
I took the knife as well
Posing for another picture
Everybody's got to sell
But when you shake your ass
They notice fast
And some mistakes were built to last

That's what you get

I say that's what you get

That's what you get for changing your mind

And after all this time
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes
Do not make the man

I'll hold on to my freedom
May not be what you want from me
Just the way it's got to be
Lose the face now 
I've got to live

No more lying friends
Wanting tragic ends
Though they do pretend
They won't go when I go

All those bleeding hearts
With sorrows to impart
Were right here from the start
And they won't go when I go

And I'll go where I've longed
To go so long
Away from tears

Gone from painful cries
Away from saddened eyes
Along with him I'll bide
Because they won't go when I go

Big men feeling small
Weak ones standing tall
I will watch them fall
They won't go when I go

And I'll go where I've longed
To go so long
Away from tears

Unclean minds mislead the pure
The innocent will leave for sure
For them there is a resting place
People sinning just for fun
They will never see the sun
For they can never show their faces
There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner
Who will take more than he will give
He ain't hardly gonna give

The greed of man will be
Far away from me
And my soul will be free
They won't go when I go

Since my soul conceived 
All that I believe
The kingdom I will see
'Cause they won't go when I go

When I go
Where I'll go
No one can keep me
From my destiny

If you've got something to say
Why don't you say it
If you've got something to give
Why don't you give it to me
Day after day I have to say it
We're moving further from heaven
And closer to the deep blue sea

'Cause I have no secrets from you
And I have nothing left to hide 
And I'm open to all your questions
Why can't you reach inside
Like I have
Like I have for you

And all these games that you play
Don't tell me how a man should be
Some would say if you knew
You wouldn't be here with me
I love you
I still love you
But I guess it's time to let you be

'Cause I have no secrets from you
And I have nothing left to hide
And I'm so tired of all these questions
'Cause maybe you just changed your mind
Like I have
Like I have
Like I have
Like I have

When I was at your doorstep
You told me to look around
Said come in
You and your heart sit down
But you'd better watch your step
'Cause you're not far from the ground
And one fine day this all falls down
Like I have
Like I have

If you've got something to say
Why don't you say it
If you've got something to give
Why don't you give it to me
Day after day I have to say it
If we've got something to save 
Why don't we save it

When your heart's in someone else's hands
Monkey see and monkey do
Their wish is your command
You're not to blame
Everyone's the same

All you do is love and love is all you do
I should know by now, the way I fought for you
You're not to blame
Everyone's the same

I know you think that you're safe
Mister
Harmless deception
That keeps love at bay
It's the ones who resist that we most want to kiss
Wouldn't you say?
Cowboys and angels
They all have the time for you
Why should I imagine
That I'd be a find for you
Why should I imagine
That I'd have something to say
But that scar on your face
That beautiful face of yours
In your heart there's a trace
Of someone before

When your heart's in someone else's plans
Things you say and things you do
They don't understand
It's such a shame
Always ends the same

You can call it love but I don't think it's true
You should know by now
I'm not the boy for you
You're not to blame
Always ends the same

I know you think that you're safe
Sister
Harmless affection
That keeps things this way
It's the ones who persist for the sake of a kiss 
Who will pay
Cowboys and angels
They all take a shine to you
Why should I imagine that I was designed for you
Why should I believe 
That you would stay

But that scar on your face
That beautiful face of yours
Don't you think that I know
They've hurt you before

Take this man to your bed
Maybe his hands will help you forget
Please be stronger than your past
The future may still give you a chance

So every day I see you in some other face
They crack a smile, talk a while
Try to take your place
My memory serves me far too well

I just sit here on this mountain thinking to myself
You're a fool boy
Why don't you go down
Find somebody
Find somebody else
My memory serves me far too well

It's not as though we just broke up
It's not as though it was yesterday
But something I just can't explain
Something in me needs this pain
I know I'll never see your face again

C'mon now
I've got to be strong now

Now everybody's talking about this new decade
Like you say the magic numbers
Then just say goodbye to 
The stupid mistakes you made
Oh my memory serves me far too well

Don't you know that
The years will come and go
Some of us will change our lives
Some of us still have nothing to show
Nothing baby
But memories

And if these wounds
They are self-inflicted
I don't really know
How my poor heart could have protected me
But if I have to carry this pain
If you will not share the blame
I deserve to see your face again

C'mon now
You don't have to be so strong now
Come back

Come back to me darling
I will make it worth your while
Come back to your baby
I miss your kiss
I miss your smile
Seems to me the peace I search to find 
Ain't going to be mine until you say you will
Don't you keep me waiting for that day
I know, I know, I know
You hear these words that I say

You can't always get what you want

Oh she knows
She takes his hand
And prays the child will understand
At the door they watch the men go by
In the clothes that daddy wore
Mothers pride
Baby Boy
His father's eyes
He's a soldier waiting for war
Time will come
He'll hold a gun
His father's son

And as he grows
He hears the band
Takes the step from boy to man
And at the shore she waves her son goodbye
Like the man she did before

Mothers pride
Just a boy
His country's eyes
He's a soldier waving at the shore
And in her heart the time has come 
To lose a son

And all the husbands, all the sons, all the lovers gone
They make no difference
No difference in the end
Still hear the woman say your daddy died a hero
In the name of God and man

Mothers pride
Crazy boy
His lifeless eyes
He's a soldier now forevermore
He'll hold a gun till kingdom come

Let me tell you a secret
Put it in your heart and keep it
Something that I want you to know
Do something for me
Listen to my simple story
And maybe we'll have someting to show

You tell me you're cold on the inside
How can the outside world
Be a place that your heart can embrace
Be good to yourself
Because nobody else
Has the power to make you happy

How can I help you
Please let me try to
I can heal the pain 
That you're feeling inside
Whenever you want me
You know that I will be
Waiting for the day
That you say you'll be mine

He must have really hurt you
To make you say the things that you do
He must have really hurt you
To make those pretty eyes look so blue

He must have known
That he could
That you'd never leave him
Now you can't see my love is good
And that I'm not him

How can I help you
Please let me try to
I can heal the pain
That you're feeling inside
Whenever you want me
You know that I will be
Waiting for the day
That you say you'll be mine

Who needs a lover
That can't be a friend 
Something tells me I'm the one you've been looking for
If you ever should see him again
Won't you tell him you've found someone who gives you more

Someone who will protect you
Love and respect you
All those things
That he never could bring to you
Like I do 
Or rather I would
Won't you show me your heart
Like you should

Won't you let me in
Let this love begin
Won't you show me your heart now
I'll be good to you
I can make this thing true
And get to your heart somehow

Higher, higher
Won't you come with me
Baby gonna get my soul free

Now you and me
I guess we see things differently
We're night and day
A bad connection some would say
And I don't want nothing to change
I don't want nothing to change
Because
When you touch me baby
I don't have no choice
Oh that sweet temptation
In your voice

Higher, higher
Won't you come with me
Baby gonna get my soul free

Now seems to me
Some things have just got to be
The games we play
Break up make-up day by day
And I don't want nothing to change
Said I don't want nothing to change
Because
When you touch me baby
I don't have no choice
Oh that sweet temptation
In your voice

Higher, higher
Won't you come with me
Baby gonna get my soul free

Well there ain't no point in moving on
Until you've got somewhere to go
And the road that I have walked upon
Well it filled my pockets
And emptied out my soul

All those insecurities
That have held me down for so long
I can't say I've found a cure for these
But at least I know them
So they're not so strong

You look for your dreams in heaven
But what the hell are you supposed to do
When they come true?

Well there's one year of my life in the songs
And some of them are about you
Now I know there's no way I can write those wrongs
Believe me
I would not lie you've hurt my pride
And I guess there's a road without you

But you once said
There's a way back for every man
So here I am
Don't people change, here I am
Is it too late to try again