The Mercy Seat

<br>It began when they come took me from my home<br>And put me in Dead Row,<br>Of which I am nearly wholly innocent, you know.<br>And I`ll say it again<br>I..am..not..afraid..to..die. <br><br>I began to warm and chill<br>To objects and their fields,<br>A ragged cup, a twisted mop<br>The face of Jesus in my soup<br>Those sinister dinner meals<br>The meal trolley`s wicked wheels<br>A hooked bone rising from my food<br>All things either good or ungood. <br><br>And the mercy seat is waiting<br>And I think my head is burning<br>And in a way I`m yearning<br>To be done with all this measuring of truth.<br>An eye for an eye<br>A tooth for a tooth<br>And anyway I told the truth<br>And I`m not afraid to die. <br><br>Interpret signs and catalogue<br>A blackened tooth, a scarlet fog.<br>The walls are bad. Black. Bottom kind.<br>They are sick breath at my hind<br>They are sick breath at my hind<br>They are sick breath at my hind<br>They are sick breath gathering at my hind <br><br>I hear stories from the chamber<br>How Christ was born into a manger<br>And like some ragged stranger<br>Died upon the cross<br>And might I say it seems so fitting in its way<br>He was a carpenter by trade<br>Or at least that`s what I`m told <br><br>Like my good hand I<br>tatooed E.V.I.L. across it`s brother`s fist<br>That filthy five! They did nothing to challenge or resist. <br><br>In Heaven His throne is made of gold<br>The ark of his Testament is stowed<br>A throne from which I`m told<br>All history does unfold.<br>Down here it`s made of wood and wire<br>And my body is on fire<br>And God is never far away. <br><br>Into the mercy seat I climb<br>My head is shaved, my head is wired<br>And like a moth that tries<br>To enter the bright eye<br>I go shuffling out of life<br>Just to hide in death awhile<br>And anyway I never lied. <br><br>My kill-hand is called E.V.I.L.<br>Wears a wedding band that`s G.O.O.D.<br>`Tis a long-suffering shackle<br>Collaring all that rebel blood. <br><br>And the mercy seat is waiting<br>And I think my head is burning<br>And in a way I`m yearning<br>To be done with all this measuring of truth.<br>An eye for an eye<br>And a tooth for a tooth<br>And anyway I told the truth<br>And I`m not afraid to die. <br><br>And the mercy seat is burning<br>And I think my head is glowing<br>And in a way I`m hoping<br>To be done with all this weighing up of truth.<br>An eye for an eye<br>And a tooth for a tooth<br>And I`ve got nothing left to lose<br>And I`m not afraid to die. <br><br>And the mercy seat is glowing<br>And I think my head is smoking<br>And in a way I`m hoping<br>To be done with all this looks of disbelief.<br>An eye for an eye<br>And a tooth for a tooth<br>And anyway there was no proof<br>Nor a motive why. <br><br>And the mercy seat is smoking<br>And I think my head is melting<br>And in a way I`m helping<br>To be done with all this twisted of the truth.<br>A lie for a lie<br>And a truth for a truth<br>And I`ve got nothing left to lose<br>And I`m not afraid to die. <br><br>And the mercy seat is melting<br>And I think my blood is boiling<br>And in a way I`m spoiling<br>All the fun with all this truth and consequence.<br>An eye for an eye<br>And a truth for a truth<br>And anyway I told the truth<br>And I`m not afraid to die. <br><br>And the mercy seat is waiting<br>And I think my head is burning<br>And in a way I`m yearning<br>To be done with all this measuring of proof.<br>A life for a life<br>And a truth for a truth<br>And anyway there was no proof<br>But I`m not afraid to tell a lie. <br><br>And the mercy seat is waiting<br>And I think my head is burning<br>And in a way I`m yearning<br>To be done with all this measuring of truth.<br>An eye for an eye<br>And a truth for a truth<br>And anyway I told the truth<br>But I`m afraid I told a lie