Henley - The Garden Of Allah lyrics
rate meIt was a pretty big year for fashion<br />
A lousy year for rock and roll<br />
The people gave their blessing to crimes of passion<br />
It was a dark, dark night of the collective soul<br />
I was somewhere out on Riverside<br />
By the El Royale Hotel<br />
When a stranger appeared in a cloud of smoke<br />
I thought I knew him all too well<br />
<br />
He said, “Now that I have your attention<br />
I got somethin’ I wanna say<br />
You may not want to hear it<br />
I’m gonna tell it to you anyway<br />
You know, I’ve always liked you, boy<br />
‘Cause you were not afraid of me<br />
But things are gonna get mighty rough<br />
Here in Gomorrah-By-The-Sea”<br />
<br />
He said, “It’s just like home<br />
It’s so damned hot, I can’t stand it<br />
My fine seersucker suit is all soakin’ wet”<br />
<br />
And the hills are burning<br />
The wind is raging<br />
And the clock strikes midnight <br />
In the Garden of Allah<br />
<br />
“Nice car……<br />
I love those Barvarians…….so meticulous<br />
Y’know, I remember a time when things were a lot more fun around here<br />
When good was good, and evil was evil<br />
Before things got so………fuzzy<br />
Yeah, I was once a golden boy like you<br />
I was summoned to the halls of power in the heavenly court<br />
And I dined with the deities who looked upon me with favor<br />
For my talents; my creativity<br />
We sat beneath the palms in the warm afternoons<br />
And drank the wine with Fitzgerald and Huxley<br />
<br />
They pawned a biting phrase<br />
From tongues hot with blood<br />
And drained their pens of bitter ink<br />
Vainly reaching for the bottle full of empty Edens<br />
Branded specially for the ones<br />
Who had come with great expectations <br />
To the perfumed halls of Allah<br />
For their time in the sun<br />
<br />
We were stokin’ the fires<br />
And oilin’ up the machinery<br />
Until the gods found out we had ideas of our own”<br />
<br />
And the war was coming<br />
The earth was shaking<br />
And there was no more room<br />
In the Garden of Allah<br />
<br />
“Today I made and appearance downtown<br />
I am an expert witness, because I say I am<br />
And I said, ‘Gentlemen….and I use that word loosely…<br />
I will testify for you<br />
I’m a gun for hire, I’m a saint, I’m a liar<br />
Because there are no facts, there is no truth<br />
Just data to be manipulated<br />
I can get you any result you like<br />
What’s it worth to ya?<br />
Because there is no wrong, there is no right<br />
And I sleep very well at night<br />
No shame, no solution<br />
No remorse, no retribution<br />
Just people selling t-shirts<br />
Just opportunity to participate in the pathetic little circus<br />
And winning, winning, winning’ “<br />
<br />
It was a pretty big year for predators<br />
The marketplace was on a roll<br />
And the land of opportunity<br />
Spawned a whole new breed of men without souls<br />
This year, notoriety got all confused with fame<br />
And the devil is downhearted<br />
Because there’s nothing left for him to claim<br />
<br />
He said, “It’s just like home<br />
It’s so low-down, I can’t stand it<br />
I guess my work around here has all been done”<br />
<br />
And the fruit is rotten <br />
The serpent’s eyes shine<br />
As he wraps around the vine<br />
In the Garden of Allah
