They Told Me Not to Talk to You

They told me not to talk to you
Just don't say anything
The Devil has been stalking you
While you listen to the Angels Sing
We never meant to put on you
All the things you had to do
Indigo and Midnight Blue
You did what you had to do

You always go your own way
So it came as a surprise
When I heard your name today
From one of the other guys
He's a Field Commander
Out on Highway 99
Another California Ride
With Michael Valentine

I started as a Chaplain
Many years ago
They made me a Captain
As these things often go
I saw a lot of battles
And I carried a Gun
Eternal Peace, I've been Released
To a New Home in the Sun

It started in the Army
Basic training in the West
The Medals on my Uniform
Say I'm Best of the Best
Seeking shelter from The Storm
My Brothers came to me
We stood together win or lose
And we made History

No one then, before or since
Thinks this is an accident
It marks a line on 99
Like Cristo's Running Fence
Burning from the inside out
Learning how to twist and shout
Start the fires and put them out
This is what your life's about

Here is what they said to me
When they finally sent me free
Right after the Heaven's Gate
They retired me, Section 8
I stayed in Central Cali
Before I left the Valley
Then moved up to the County Line
And took over the Waterline

The Locals call it Tombstone
For what happened there that day
Looking through a Moonstone
Into endless Shades of Gray
My guns were all unloaded
In my old leather backpack
With wanderlust and violence
Like Monkeys on my back

Rev is short for Reverend
I try to keep it down
The road I'm on will never end
The wheels go round and round
I was a family man in the meadowlands
Before they went away
I guess I'll never understand
Why they took the Sun away

They sent me to a hospital
Behind an iron gate
Living hell, a padded cell
And a lifetime left to wait
I spent my time behind the line
Just planning my escape
And finally when the time came
I only had myself to blame

I used to like to cut my skin
So I could feel the pain
The Doctors and the Witnesses
All said I was insane
But I can feel the 4 Winds blow
And leave it all behind
Out on Highway 99
With Michael Valentine

I still pray every morning
I'm on my knees at night
The journey of returning
From all that isn't right
In my heart, I'm yearning
For another Firefight
The candle light is burning
Until we put out the light

So, just for the record
I am ordered by the court
To stay out of the water
To observe and just report
They say I am retired
They don't know me very well
My soul is still on fire
For another walk through Hell

So I pick up my weapon
And I take a look inside
Of the immortal 7
They're calling me the Scribe
7 come 11
Cuz it's gonna be a Ride
Is it Hell or is it Heaven
Waiting on the Other Side?

That Night at the Hospital
A while after Midnight
An ordinary Orderly
In operatory whites
Pushed a laundry basket
Down an endless concrete Hall
A tisket and a tasket
On the other side of the Wall

I can't believe the racket
The rattle in my brain
Like the Shawshank Redemption
I'm Dancin' in the Rain
Central California
With amber waves of grain
A Northbound line on 99
With Michael Valentine