[ti:The Mercy Seat]
[ar:Johnny Cash]
[00:00.00]Johnny Cash - The Mercy Seat
[00:03.33]It all began when they took me from my home
[00:05.40]And put me on Death Row,
[00:07.05]a crime for which I am totally innocent, you know.
[00:10.34]I began to warm and chill
[00:14.91]To objects and their fields,
[00:17.99]A ragged cup, a twisted mop
[00:20.34]The face of Jesus in my soup
[00:22.97]Those sinister dinner deals
[00:24.27]The meal trolley’s wicked wheels
[00:27.21]A hooked bone rising from my food
[00:30.59]All things either good or ungood.
[00:33.23]And the mercy seat is waiting
[00:35.55]And I think my head is burning
[00:38.40]And in a way I’m yearning
[00:40.46]To be done with all this weighing of the truth.
[00:44.16]An eye for an eye
[00:45.90]And a tooth for a tooth
[00:47.28]And anyway I told the truth
[00:50.53]And I’m not afraid to die.
[00:53.36]I hear stories from the chamber
[01:01.73]Christ was born into a manger
[01:04.56]And like some ragged stranger
[01:06.81]He died upon the cross
[01:08.84]Might I say, it seems so fitting in its way
[01:12.99]He was a carpenter by trade
[01:16.11]Or at least that’s what I’m told
[01:18.63]My kill-hand’s
[01:25.05]tatooed E.V.I.L. across it’s brother’s fist
[01:28.33]That filthy five! They did nothing to challenge or resit
[01:33.47]In Heaven His throne is made of gold
[01:37.72]The ark of his Testament is stowed
[01:40.58]A throne from which I’m told All history does unfold.
[01:45.05]It’s made of wood and wire
[01:46.98]And my body is on fire
[01:50.06]And God is never far away.
[01:53.46]Into the mercy seat I climb
[01:56.54]My head is shaved, my head is wired
[01:59.24]And like a moth that tries
[02:01.71]To enter the bright eye
[02:03.46]I go shuffling out of life
[02:06.38]Just to hide in death awhile
[02:09.14]And anyway I never lied.
[02:13.39]And the mercy seat is waiting
[02:15.70]And I think my head is burning
[02:18.42]And in a way I’m yearning
[02:20.45]To be done with all this weighing of the truth.
[02:24.44]An eye for an eye And a tooth for a tooth
[02:28.10]And anyway I told the truth And I’m not afraid to die
[02:32.62]And the mercy seat is burning
[02:35.10]And I think my head is glowing
[02:37.74]And in a way I’m hopin’
[02:39.95]to be done with all this twistin’ of the truth.
[02:43.90]An eye for an eye And a tooth for a tooth
[02:46.75]And any way there was no proof And I’m not afraid to die
[02:51.95]And the mercy seat is glowing
[02:54.46]And I think my head is smoking
[02:57.22]And in a way I’m hopin’
[02:59.08]to be done with all these looks of disbelief.
[03:02.86]A life for a life And a truth for a truth
[03:06.00]And I’ve got nothin’ left to loose.
[03:08.50]And I’m not afraid to die
[03:11.13]And the mercy seat is smoking
[03:13.58]And I think my head is melting
[03:16.34]And in a way that’s helpin’ to be done with all this twistin’ of the truth
[03:22.83]An eye for an eye And a tooth for a tooth
[03:25.12]And any way I told the truth
[03:27.76]But I’m afraid I told a lie.