Preach

PREACH*

The Kids all call me Preach

I live down at the Beach

A little South of Malibu

Highway 1, not far from you

Early Sunrise, Morning Dew

There's a Warning coming through

I'm not sure yet if it is True

But, let me spell it out for you

They tell me I am near the End

This is about you too, my Friend

Take another look around

Listen to the Water Sounds

We've come so much farther now

Then we ever could before

Will we make it through, somehow

To end this Endless War?

What happened to the Love we had

How something good could turn so bad

We understood there was a plan

For the Final Days of Man

I was Walking in the Sand

When I thought I heard Someone

As we approach the Promised Land

We are always on the Run

It's hard enough to live your Life

In the Shadow of a Gun

The Heartbreak cuts you like a Knife

In shades of Silver Edelweiss

If you want to take a Wife

Then, you'd better think it through

Cuz, Everything that runs through me

Is about to run through you

Up in the sky, I saw a Cross

The Shadow of an Albatross

The Wind and Sea are Tempest-tossed

Eternity is all but Lost

A Rolling Stone still gathers Moss

Marooned and Shipwrecked on the Rocks

I beseech the Holy Ghost

To take me to the Lord of Hosts

I'll tell you why I am a Preacher

Long ago, I had a Teacher

She was Beautiful and Wise

There was a Light behind her Eyes

She lived out on the Reservation

Medicine Woman, Cherokee Nation

She wasn't looking for Salvation

She was the Soul of all Creation

Her Father walked to the Trail of Tears

Her Mother Died along the way

Dismembered by their deepest Fears

16,000 sent away

None of that means anything

To those who don't Remember

I was barely 17

That bitter cold December

You asked why I'm a Minister

I don't know what to say

I fight the Evil and the Sinister

And I'm still Alive today

It was never quite like this

Until the White Man came to stay

As we Walked into the Skies

And Across The Bridge of Sighs

There is no Rainbow way out there

No shining Golden Gate

You almost cannot Breathe the Air

You simply have to Wait

There is no Patience or Compassion

Just War, and Hate and Obsession

Legions of Satan's Minions

For your Traveling Companions

Susanna taught me Everything I'd ever need to know

From the Susquehanna River to the Gulf of Mexico

We traveled Together everywhere we had to go

It was already Snowing, our Way was Tough and Slow

We Rode from California to Taos, New Mexico

We thought no one would follow us

But what then did we know?

The Mountain Trails were Treacherous, they nearly got the Best of us

Susanna carried Flint Rock so that we could start a Fire

As the night rolled on, we were so far gone

We gave in to our Desires

She felt the same about me, but she never said a thing

We had kept Distance in between us

As we Danced our Buck and Wing

But, when we made Love, I swear to God

I heard the Angels Sing

Susanna was much older than me

More than twice my age

But what she showed me that Evening

Set another kind of Stage

I had spent the last 2 years

Forsaken, all alone

There was no place I could safely stay

That I could call my Home

I am a Gypsy Wanderer

Of Flesh and Blood and Bone

But when Susanna took me by the Hand

She also brought me Home

Loops and hoops and ridges and whorls

Just like an ancient Fingerprint

Beyond the edges of the World

Susanna was a Princess, with the heart of a Little Girl

So, why am I a Minister?

It had to be like this

In the Wake of the Disasters

It started with a Kiss

She put her Arms around me

And she Drew me to her Breast

She said, I'll be crossing over soon

You must make your way out West

I feel my Heartbeat slowing down

Before long, I’ll be Underground

I'll Sleep down there quite Peacefully

My Soul aflame Eternally

There is something you must know

My Sweet Love, before I Go

There’s a Man way down in Jericho

It's time to put him down below

The Man is Evil incarnate

Jack Ford is his Name

He once wore a Texas Rangers Star

A Lawman on the Range

Please don't Misunderstand me

As this might Strike you Strange

But Jack Ford is my Husband

And he is totally Insane

He is faster with a Six Gun

Than anyone you've ever met

He shot a man at 21

For stealing a cigarette

The man Died later in the barn

Around the bend at Donley's Farm

One of the Children of the Corn

The Time has come to do him Harm

My father knew when I was born

My saddle was already worn

I'd been around this World before

Back and forth to Heaven's Door

Always Fighting in a War

Why, I still don't know for sure

I still don't really know the Reason

Why I would be Shot for Treason

Susanna said, won't you Ride with me?

We're about to make History

If I read it right, we won't last the Night

As we walk into Infinity and God turns out the Light

But Starlight, Starbright, oh, Little Town of Divine Light

We Hope and Pray you're by our side for our Last and Final Ride

Wish we May or Wish we Might, when it's time to Kill the Light

May we be Together on the Other Side, Remembered for our Sacrifice

A Comet streaks across the Sky, the Riverbeds have all run dry

We're Stealing up into a pass, concealing in the tall Wheatgrass

And Arsenal of Weapons and a TerribleObsession

To End Jack Ford’s Possession, Torture him for his Confession

We get the Word of his Position, Triangulate the Grid

I learned this stuff from my Old Man, when I was just a Kid

I've done things I'm not proud of, Shadowplay in Silence

We've got a Badass Attitude and a History of Violence

Stickups and aggravated assaults, an Earthquake of shattering Faults

A Passion for Breaking through Walls, the Echo of just my Footfalls

Then a Star on my Chest as a Lawman, a Rep as a Quick on the Draw man

Out there Somewhere on the Rangeland, I feel like I'm Drowning in Quicksand

I made my Living as a Bounty Hunter, as a Tracker, there is no one better

When I want you, then I'm going to find you, I'm coming up right here
behind you

Maybe, I need to remind you that you done crossed the line

My Reflexes are going to Astound you, as my Friends and my Posse Surround
you

My Wishes and Prayers have never been Answered ever since my Mama done Died
of the Cancer

My Sister was working as an Exotic Dancer, my Brother went off with the
Regiment Lancers

There is no telling what I've had to give, I will lay down my Life so that
others might Live

But up on the Ridge, very deep in the Night, we hear Horses and Riders
prepare for the Fight

And when it comes time, we will turn out the Light, they won't hear a thing
before they say Goodnight

My Love and I are Together all night, Dancing Together in the Pale Moonlight

The Flicker and the Crackle of the Firelight, preparing for a Fight in the
cool First Light

I take a Burning Ember and I light a Peece Pipe, We're Polishing our
Weapons till the Time is Right

The Sun came up, but could not be seen, Imprisoned in the In Between

The Fog rolled in like the Scottish Moors, Beyond the Doors of Nevermore

We Saddled up our Ponies, I Kissed my One and Only

We were already Homesick for our Home in California

Come Sunrise in the Morning, we got an Early Warning

Jack Ford was on the move again, somewhere on the Rise

We Kissed and said Goodbye again, no Tears were in our Eyes

The Sun broke right on through the Clouds, and then we both said Hello again

We spotted Jack Ford all alone, the most Dangerous Man we've ever known

We're Wet and Frozen to the Bone and someone's Ripe to go on Home

Right now, it is hard to say who will Survive Another Day

Death is a Seductress in a Black Lace Evening Dress

A Siren Song upon the Sea, the Deadly Flame of Fantasy

The Fairytale of you and me, Eternity in Unity

Your Love keeps coming through to me

In Rolling Waves of Ecstasy

When you take that long, dark ride, way down deep inside your Mind

When you see the Brilliant Flashing of your Supernova Suicide

You give the Man your Ticket for this House of Mirrors Ride

And you recall the River Jordan is Cold and Deep and Wide

They say that Everyone must come Together at the End

Walk across the River Holding Hands with your Best Friend

Take another moment just to look up in the sky

Because, at any Moment, it is time to say Goodbye

Hear the Children Crying as I Sing your Lullaby

I don't expect to See all that, because you're as tough as a Mountain Cat

Maybe Diamonds in the Rough, maybe made of Stronger Stuff

But I can tell you I have had Enough, all this for my Lover’s tender Touch

Never have I ever Loved anyone so much; Firestarters Lurking out there in
the Underbrush

Our Scouts have just sent back the Word that Jack Ford knows we're here

He's sending up some Smoke Signals, we can see them very clear

He says that he is Innocent, and he only wants to Talk

And let a good Judge Sentence him to finally Walk his Walk

Susanna said, he's Lying, that's Lucifer's voice for sure

All that is Unholy, Unworthy and Impure

Ours is but to take him down, to put him 6’ Underground

We’ll Ride like Hell right out of Town, just after the Sun goes down

That's when a single Shot rang out, Susanna's Horse just hit the Ground

Rain and Thunder from the North, no way to get around

They brought the battle to us, to Only Just the 2 of Us

As All Things Must Come To Pass, Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

We were Surrounded on all sides, it seemed it was our Time to Die

We flattened out by the Riverside, and Lord, the Tears we didn't Cry

We felt that God was on our side, that Justice would prevail

Jack Ford would almost surely Die, or spend his Life in Jail

The Varmint never took a Wife, no one to make his Bail

Susanna was on the Move, her Six Gun in her Hand

I took the Left flank Silently, came out from behind a Tree

They were down low by the Campfire, ready for some Enemy Fire

I barely cleared my .45 from my Holster when it started

The Wives of 7 Outlaws would soon be Brokenhearted

Jack Ford was climbing desperately to a Rock up on the Ridge

Susanna followed Silently, like the Tracker that she is

I had a Blackjack in my Backpack for Encounters just like this

Jack Ford must now be on his knees with a Prayer and his Last Wish

Of 7 Dead Men left behind, I guess one was still Alive

A 30-30 Winchester began to Open Fire

I didn't see what happened, but I knew that all was lost

Susanna simply Vanished on the Plains of Armacost

And in the Sky, an Eagle made the Shadow of the Cross

I shot in Jack's direction, but Naught came back my way

I saw the Guy who shot Susanna trying to crawl away

I looked him squarely in the Eye, then blew his Head away

That almost marks the ending of our Killing for today

There's only one more Death that matters and it's coming very soon

Though my Soul is in tatters, we're underneath a Red Blood Moon

Jack Ford has taken to Retreat, I could see the stains of his bloody feet

Pointing right to where he was, we’re in the Land Of Just Because

My Dad was Halfbreed Cherokee, and he taught me to be Silent

My Father taught and trained me to share his Passion for the Violence

But all the Cries and Whispers, the Golden, Shattered Glass Slippers

Life comes in like a Hurricane and goes out with a Whimper

When it comes Time to deal in Pain, I never have resisted

Broken Lines and Serpentines and Men with Minds so Twisted

Jack Ford was already wounded, my Girl had Shot him Down

I stood by to ease his Passage to Somewhere Underground

He told me that he had a sack of Gold out on the Plain

I barely even listened to a single word he said

I put my Sights on his Forehead, and then I shot him Dead

I looked down and noticed that my shirt was turning Red

I reached down and ripped it open, my Guts were all Exploded

You never hear the One that takes you Down

I didn't even Feel it, but there's no way to Conceal it

I'll go back to Susanna and I'll lay my body down

I scrambled down the Ridgeline through the Scree and Broken Rocks

I felt that I was holding a Gold Key to Pandora's Box

I was pulling out my Six Gun to blow off the iron Locks

When I heard Susanna Crying from her Nest up in the Rocks l

I somehow made it up there, though I still don't know how

We are Capable of anything when the What becomes the How

I followed a Red Rivulet, the Color of the Moon

I lit another Cigarette, and heard the Calling of the Loon

Susanna, she was Dying, that much was very Clear

There was no way that even I could get her out of here

I was about to Die myself, so I Lay me Down beside her

We Sailed across the Bridge of Sighs as the River’s getting wider

As All Things Must Come To Pass, this Tale comes to an End

I'll spend my Life in Paradise with my Lover and my Friend

But if you can remember us the way that we once were

I can guarantee that you'll find out one thing for sure

Death will come to all of us, and our Lives are a Gift

The Circle turns around again, it all starts with a Kiss

If you Remember anything, you must Remember this

Susanna and Preach are finally gone to the Golden Fields of Avalon

*********