When we all ran
back into the briars
We told our children
about the foreign shore
When we threw our boots
into the fire
We told them all
about the tug of war
Gonna tell them
about the seed and the shovel
About the prison
and the promised land
Gonna tell them
about the dream of the devil
About the hurting and the
healing hand that hand
Cause the music never lasts too
long for the singers
and the endless song
When we held our words up
in the mirror
We told our children
how to hold their tongues
When we held our heads
beneath the river
We told them
all about the iron lung
Gonna tell them
about the sins of the father
About the junkie and the jubilee
Gonna tell them
about the roots in the water
About the killing in the quiet
line of trees
Cause the music never lasts too
long for the singers
and the endless song
All our morning kisses
in the covers
And told our children
what worthy means
And then you wrapped
your arms around another
And told them
what was worth a pile of beans
Gonna tell them
about the call of the ocean
About the singers
and the endless song
Gonna tell them about the body
and the motion
And how the music never lasts
too long too long
Cause the music never lasts
too long for the singers
and the endless song
About the low lit alley
and the wedding bed
About the first born sucker
and the spider's web
Cause the music never lasts
too long for the singers
and the endless song
About the mind and the muscle
and the weary mile
About the heart and the hustle
and the empty sky
Cause the music never
lasts too long for the singers
and the endless song
About the tangled up truth
in the perfect teeth
About the pilgrim and
the picking through
the chaff and
wheat Cause the music
never lasts too long
for the singers and the
endless song
About the butterfly kiss
and the call for blood
About the pig and the preacher
and the holy mud
Cause the music never lasts
too long for the singers
and the endless song
About the breeze in the summer
and the nose will know
About the sleep through the
winter when the cold wind blows
Cause the music never lasts too
long for the singers
and the endless song
About the lame duck lion
and the thorny crown
About the proud punk mule
and the heavy plow
Cause the music never lasts
too long for the singers
and the endless song
About the sunburned belly
and the mother's moon
About the end of the music
coming way too soon