'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood,
Blackness was a virtue, the road was full of mud,
I came in from the wilderness a creature void of form:
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."
Not a word was spoke between us, there was no risk involved,
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved –
Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm:
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."
I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail,
Poisoned in the bushes, blown out on the trail,
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn:
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."
Suddenly I turned around and she was standing there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair,
She walked up to me so gracefully, took my crown of thorns,
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."
Now, the deputy walks on hard nails, preacher rides a mount,
Nothing a-really matters much, doom alone that counts,
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn:
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."
In a little hilltop village they gambled for my clothes,
I bargained for salvation, they gave me a lethal dose,
I offered up my innocence, got repaid with scorn:
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."
Now there's a wall between us, something there's been lost,
I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed –
Just to think that it all began in a noneventful morn:
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."
I'm living in a foreign country, but I'm bound to cross the line,
Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make it mine
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born:
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."