There ain't no reason
things are this way
It's how they've always been
and they intend to stay
I can't explain
why we live this way
We do it every day
Preachers on the podiums
speaking of saints
Prophets on the sidewalk
begging for change
Old ladies laughing
from the fire escape
cursing my name
I got a basket
full of lemons and they
all taste the same
A window and a pigeon
with a broken wing
You could spend
your whole life
working for something
Just to have it
taken away
People walk around
pushing back their debts
Wearing paychecks like
necklaces and bracelets
Talking about nothing
not thinking 'bout death
Every little heartbeat
Every little breath
People walk a tight rope
on a razors edge
Carrying their hurt
and hatred and weapons
It could be a bomb
or a bullet
or a pen
or thought
or a word
or a sentence
There ain't no reason
things are this way
It's how they've always been
and they intend to stay
I don't know why
I say the things I say
but I say them anyway
but love will come
set me free
Love will come
set me free
I do believe
Love will come
set me free
I know it will
Love will come
set me free
Yes
Prison walls still
standing tall
Some things
never change at all
Keep on building prisons
gonna fill them all
Keep on building bombs
gonna drop them all
Working your fingers
bare to the bone
Breaking your back
make you sell your soul
Like a lung
that's filled with coal
suffocating slow
The wind blows wild
and I may move
but politicians lie
and I am not fooled
You don't need no reason
or a three piece suit
to argue the truth
The air on my skin
and the world
under my toes
Slavery stitched
to the fabric
of my clothes
Chaos and commotion
wherever I go
Love I try to follow
Love will come
set me free
Love will come
set me free
I do believe
Love will come
set me free
I know it will
Love will come
set me free
yes
There ain't no reason
things are this way
It's how they've always been
and they intend to stay
I can't explain
why we live this way
We do it every day