Johnny Cash - The Mercy Seat Lyrics
It all began when they took me from my homeAnd put me on Death Row,A crime for which I am totally innocent, you know.I began to warm and chillTo objects and their fields,A ragged cup, a twisted mopThe face of Jesus in my soupThose sinister dinner dealsThe meal trolley's wicked wheelsA hooked bone rising from my foodAll things either good or ungood.And the mercy seat is waitingAnd I think my head is burningAnd in a way I'm yearningTo be done with all this weighing of the truth.An eye for an eyeAnd a tooth for a toothAnd anyway I told the truthAnd I'm not afraid to die.I hear stories from the chamberChrist was born into a mangerAnd like some ragged strangerHe died upon the crossMight I say, it seems so fitting in it's wayHe was a carpenter by tradeOr at least that's what I'm toldMy kill-hand'sTatooed E. V. I. L. Across it's brother's fistThat filthy five! They did nothing to challenge or resist.In Heaven His throne is made of goldThe ark of his Testament is stowedA throne from which I'm toldAll history does unfold.It's made of wood and wireAnd my body is on fireAnd God is never far away.Into the mercy seat I climbMy head is shaved, my head is wiredAnd like a moth that triesTo enter the bright eyeI go shuffling out of lifeJust to hide in death awhileAnd anyway I never lied.And the mercy seat is waitingAnd I think my head is burningAnd in a way I'm yearningTo be done with all this weighing of the truth.An eye for an eyeAnd a tooth for a toothAnd anyway I told the truthAnd I'm not afraid to dieAnd the mercy seat is burningAnd I think my head is glowingAnd in a way I'm hopin'To be done with all this twistin' of the truth.An eye for an eyeAnd a tooth for a toothAnd any way there was no proofAnd I'm not afraid to dieAnd the mercy seat is glowingAnd I think my head is smokingAnd in a way I'm hopin'To be done with all these looks of disbelief.A life for a lifeAnd a truth for a truthAnd I've got nothin' left to loose.And I'm not afraid to dieAnd the mercy seat is smokingAnd I think my head is meltingAnd in a way that's helpin'To be done with all this twistin' of the truthAn eye for an eyeAnd a tooth for a toothAnd any way I told the truthBut I'm afraid I told a lie.
