When I was younger, I heard the voice of reason
But I did not care much for what she had to say
I loved her stepsisters, Vice and Treason
Always happy to be traveling when you're going astray

I was never convicted of harm with intention
But I sure did a lotta hurt along the way
Thought a pound of cure was worth the ounce of prevention
I would not listen to what my heart had to say

CHO: Never mind how you got here (that's a much bigger question)
What are you gonna do now (give up or give in)
Like a drowning man it's so hard to surrender
Let that tender mercy save you again

Somewhere on the journey my eyes started to open
But it did not come in a flash of light
Just a gradual turning, a gentle unfolding
A voice in the darkness a hand in the night

CHO:
instrumental verse solo (Mike)
There's a time for laughing and a time for crying
A time for dancing at the edge of the sea
There's your moment of birth and your hour of dying
What are you gonna do with all that time in between?
CHO:
Tag/Intro/out
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He stood there with a sign "Will work for food"
Looked like he hadn't eaten in a while
So I handed him a dollar and as I turned away
I wondered when the last time was he'd smiled
Or had a good friend, or laughed out loud

They stand there with their signs " Will work for food"
Or just sit staring far out into space
And people, passing by, act like they just don't care
Or look disgusted and pick up their pace
Fellow members of the human race

You can call them lazy, say trouble's all they've earned
Or maybe you will sigh and look concerned
But once they all were babies, just like you
I assure you it was never in their plan
To be standing in the cold, on the corner, all alone
Homeless, hungry, holding out their hands

He was angry, standing by the grocery store
He held the hand of a little boy of four
When I think about that boy, and what his future holds
I'll tell you friends, it makes my blood run cold
To think he'll end up out there with a sign
Now I don't know just what that sign will say
Or if people will pay any more attention
Than they did to one his daddy held today

For the old guy, on the corner, say a prayer.
He looks like birds been living in his hair
Beneath the stubble and the dirt, and that filthy army shirt
You wouldn't know your brother standing there
Hopeless, empty, thousand-mile stare

You can call him crazy, say trouble's all he's earned
Or maybe you will sigh and look concerned
But once he was a baby, just like you
I assure you it was never in his plan
To be standing in the cold, on the corner, all alone
Homeless, hungry, holding out his hand
And they sleep out in the cold
Numb and frightened, all alone
Homeless, hungry, holding out their hands

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