in the bare-bulb light of a great room
the men sit around a table
in their shiny suits & their rolex arms
smiling snake-cold as they're able
with their shiny cars & their built-in bars
and their guts all ready to spill
hey, god is dead! that's what nietszche said,
so they've come to read god's will

it says the meek shall inherit the earth
& they like the way that's writ
course that's much later, on judgement day
when the stockmarket won't mean shit
til then they can feel justified livin so mighty & high
cuz everyone knows poor people will have it much better
up in the sky

and i'm not saying i'm terribly proud
of this comfortable life i've built
i'm just not gonna lie to myself
to try to assuage my guilt
salvation is around the corner
creation is every day
i'm gonna try to live the best i can & then better
or there'll be hell to pay

and don't try to make it all better
by romanticizing rags
saying a rich man can't enter heaven
while riding off on your camel with heavy saddle bags
maybe the hungry get the best ambrosia
when they step off that old styx boat
but just you try eating a bible
you'll find all those words just
stick in your throat

so when you find yourself in a dim room
reading the list of heirs from god's will
oh be sure to partake of the fruit bowl
yeah, be sure to get your fill
just remember also the people who don't belong
to the eden garden/country club elite
and admit we need to stop waiting to be saved
& sanctify what's right under our feet

copyright arjuna greist 1999