Lyrics

NARROW BED 
 
Centuries of sin 
Have done this planet in; 
Have left us all 
Shaken and afraid. 
Too late to begin 
To turn to the truth again; 
We must sleep in 
The narrow bed 
We’ve made. 
 
Pharisees and pharaohs, 
And famine’s evil arrows 
All have fallen 
And decayed. 
But I fear I see tomorrow 
In the fall of the sparrow. 
We must sleep in 
The narrow bed 
We’ve made. 
 
The letter of the law 
Was all you ever saw; 
You never saw 
The sentence 
To be paid. 
When you go to bed tonight, 
Don’t expect the morning light. 
You must sleep in 
The narrow bed 
You’ve made. 
 
Caught down near the water, 
With Pharaoh’s daughter, 
On a cool, crisp, Cairo day. 
He spoke as any father, 
Saying, “You broke her; 
Now you bought her. 
Now take these two away; 
They must sleep in 
The narrow bed 
They’ve made.” 
 
You’ve never felt the hunger, 
Even when you were much younger; 
Your billions were all that you displayed. 
Now, you’ll find your feasting 
All is hollow, 
And you’ll find this 
Hard to swallow: 
You must sleep in 
The narrow bed 
You’ve made. 
 
Centuries of sin 
Have done this planet in, 
Have left us all 
Shaken and afraid. 
Too late to begin 
To turn to the truth again; 
We must sleep in 
The narrow bed 
We’ve made. 
 
Copyright © 1999 Lex Zaleta