Uttering idle words from a reprobate mind,
Clinging to strange promises, dying on the vine,
Never being able to separate the good from the bad,
Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it, it's making me feel so sad.
Dead man, dead man, when will you arise,
Cobwebs in your mind, dust upon your eyes?
Satan got you by the heel, there's a bird's nest in your hair.
Do you have any faith at all? Do you have any love to share?
The way that you hold your head, cursing God with every move,
Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it, what are you trying to prove?
Dead man, dead man, when will you arise,
Cobwebs in your mind, dust upon your eyes?
The glamour and the bright lights and the politics of sin,
The ghetto that you build for me is the one you're living in,
The race of the engine that overrules your heart –
Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it, pretending that you're so smart.
Dead man, dead man, when will you arise,
Cobwebs in your mind, dust upon your eyes?
What are you trying to overpower me with, a doctrine or a gun?
My back's to the wall: where can I run?
The tuxedo that you're wearing, the flower in your lapel,
Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it, taking me down to hell
1.
Dead man, dead man, when will you arise,
Cobwebs in your mind, dust upon your eyes?
Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it,
Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it,
Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it,
Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it,
Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it...
1
According to other lyrics sources, this line ends with "You wanna take me down to hell" or "You're taking me down to hell". While I transcribed the corresponding part as simply, "taking me down to hell", this interpretation is not very satisfactory since it's fragmentary and, therefore, not really clear in terms of how it relates to the rest of the line, etc.