"Party Of God" by 10000 Maniacs

[ Billy Bragg and Natalie Merchant ]



In a busy street 
A man sits down 
Oblivious to the traffic sounds 
No chaos 
No frenzied shrieking crowd 
Thank God their silence 
Walking heads bent down 
Come when they saw us 
Called it lethargy 
The treadmill turns 
There down below their feet 

Should I pray for an end to come 
Quickly (quickly), quickly (quickly) 
Or cross the waves of an angry sea 
Risking (risking) 
And braving (braving) 
The shipwreck and the mutiny assailing 
Assailing 

In a haunted doorway 
And from the light of day 
See another life fall to ruin in pain 
False smiles from even children it seems 
Landlocked ground for empty and lost dreams 
A league against me 
I hear him say 
It's not worth half the effort 
Or the price you pay 

Should I pray for an end to come 
Quickly (quickly), quickly (quickly) 
Or should I raise my face to the heavens above 
And tell God (dear God) 
Stop jeering (and jeering) 
As our human frailties and all 
Our failings 
Are we failing? 

Pound pound on an endless street 
Again and again the nightmare scene 
All strained against the tightened rope 
Not one with a lasting lingering hope 
There's evidence everywhere you see 
Put a quarter down at the newsstand 
So that you can read 

Should I pray for an end to come 
Quickly (quickly), quickly (quickly) 
Or should I raise my face to the clouds above 
Entreating (entreating) 
Their mercy (some mercy) 
But as clouds will do 
They'll rain down 
First gently (gently) and sweetly (so sweetly) 
Until they silence me 
With a burst of thunder (thunder) and lightning (and
lightning) 
And helpless landlocked screaming 
I know God must be agreeing 
It's the worst part of watching 
It's the worst part of watching 
It's the worst part of watching 
It's the worst part 
Landlocked in screaming 
God must be agreeing 
To be helpless is the worst 
Must be the worst part of watching 
The worst part of watching