Lyrics to "Thunder And Fire"

Copyright 1989 A&M Records, Inc.

"When The Angels Cry"

(D. Schlitz, J. Ringenberg)

Down here on the planet earth
They line you up on the day of your birth
Give you a number, call it a name
Put you on go, and they turn on the game

Standing in a long straight line
You learn to do as you are told
A three-foot wall on either side
A uniform to keep you cold

Down here on the planet earth
A dollar sign is what you're worth
They dig you a hole, they fill it back in
Then they tell you to do it all over again

And laying in your bed at night
You learn to dream as you are told
A three-foot wall keeps out the light
And while you sleep, you're bought and sold

When the angels cry
No one asks them why
When the angels cry
They only shed a tear
Then they disappear

Down here on the planet earth
They steal your back, they leave your shirt
They pay you a penny and call it a dime
Then they give you a watch when you run out of time

And sometimes when the skies are blue
You hear the moan of heaven's wind
Saying "I wanted more for you"
It's there and then it's gone again

"Now That You're Mine"

(J. Ringenberg)

Girl before I met you
Before you came along
My life wasn't worth a counterfeit
It wasn't worth a song

Always on the outside always looking in
'Till I saw you standing prettier than sin
Now I'm feeling so fine

Now that you're mine
Now that you're mine
I'm raising my arms and crossing the line
Now that you're mine
Now that you're mine
I feel like a convict done doin' time

I used to wake up in the morning
And walk the streets alone
Like a man without a country
A child without a home

Always on the outside always in despair
'Till I cleared my eyes and saw you standing there
Now I'm feeling so fine

I was living in a rusting cage
No love to soothe away my driving rage
'Till I saw you coming down the line
Now everything is doing oh so fine

"You Gotta Way With Me"

(P. Baggs, J. Ringenberg)

You got a way of saying
All of the things I know
You got a way of taking
Me where I wanna go
Everywhere you're going
Is everywhere I wanna be

You gotta way with me
Don't take a saint to see
You gotta way with me

I see the morning rising
I see the sun set on high
Who said to get to heaven
Who said you gotta die
'Cause on a scale of seven
You rate about a twenty-three

"My Kingdom For A Car"

(P. Ochs)

I have found my freedom
You will find me flyin' down a highway of gold
My shirt sleeves are rolled
Laying waste for a pot of gold
I go fast 'till I'm going faster

Look how far we've come look how far
My car my car
My kingdom for a car

How I love the highway
Picks me up and takes me wherever I please
Bring space to its knees
I am master of all that's flying by me

Take me to tomorrow
Let me go I'm racin' with the wind in my hair
There's smoke in the air
But I do not care
If you want me you will have to pass me

Come to me baby
We will leave this path it was not made for man
We'll find a new land
But the traffic is jammed
I would park but it's too far for walking

"Close Up The Road"

(J. Ringenberg)

As I went out to meet my maker
As I went down that narrow road
The daughter of the local shaker
Walked ahead of me whispering in my ear
And singing this song

Close up the road
Clear the shelf and empty out the store
Close up the road
Pull the cover up a little bit more

As I went out to cross the river
The river slow and deep and wide
The angels sang about the givers
But on the other side the ferryman laughed
As he was singing this song

As I went out to climb the mountain
The mountain hard and steep and cold
I thought I saw the Golden Fountain
But when the fog let up
All that I could do was just a whistle this song

"Lights Out"

(J. Ringenberg)

Lights out the time has come
Morning's over the night's begun
Lights out can't you see
Everything is falling down on top of me

They waited every day
Watching the sun just fade away
They come without fear
Want all that we hold dear
We see them on the porch
Their turn to hold the torch

We had it all just yesterday
We thought we'd never have to pay
The cities and the farms
Sleep through every new alarm
Choking on decadence
Not one ghost of a chance

"Find You"

(T. Krekel, J. Ringenberg)

I went south I went west
Trying to find the girl that I love best
Up north and back east
Trying to find a place to lay my feast
I searched the heavens I searched the sky
I vow to search until the day I die

I wanna find you to find me
I wanna climb into your family tree
I wanna dig into your history
I'm gonna find you to find me

Every place I ever been
I always told them I'd be back again
A lot of girls everywhere
Waitin' for me now but I don't care
There's only one I wanna find
I'm gonna look until it makes me blind

Searching, searching, searching day or night
Searching, searching darling your light

"Bible And A Gun"

(S. Earle, J. Ringenberg)

There's a full moon out tonight
And it's shining down on me
And in that purest light
Any fool could see

That this highway is paved with sorrow
And every mile is lined with pain
And when the sun comes up tomorrow
You'll be just as far away

Now I hear her whisper soft and low
Through every mile I run
As I travel through this world of woe
With a Bible and a gun

If a man was made to suffer
I'm a mighty man I know
From one heartache to another
I've been burnin' down this road

I've got one eye on the mirror
And one eye on the line
The end keeps growin' nearer
The past slips behind

I don't mean to hurt nobody
I don't mean to do no wrong
But somethin' out there's got me
And it's pulling me along

Darkness is my shelter
Emptiness my light
And stranger, heaven help you
If our paths cross tonight

"Six Feet Underground"

(P. Baggs, J. Ringenberg)

I hear the wind blow
Through all the pines in valleys down below
Cars have replaced the
Replaced the wagons moving slow
 

I hear the talk of a new deal
A new deal going down
I cheer the home team
From six feet underground

I saw too many
Too many good men broken up
I drank a lifetime
A lifetime from a rusty cup

I wore two faces
Hid the lion showed the clown
I walked the high road
From six feet underground

Subdivisions
Subdivisions standing row on row
Still I remember
Remember when the blood still stained the snow

I raise my glass
To the new hope lying all around
I cheer your justice
From six feet underground

"No Turning Back"

(D. Schlitz, J. Ringenberg)

You say you've gotta go
You say you need some time alone
You might be right
You might be wrong

But one thing I know
Being right doesn't make you strong
And once you turn away
From love, it's gone

But if you've made your mind up
There's nothing left to say
But listen close
And I'll tell you anyway

There's no turning back
Once you cross the line, it's over forever
When gold turns black
There ain't no turning back

You say you'll think of me
When you close your eyes tonight
Maybe you're wrong
Maybe you're right

But one thing I know
When you're face to face with the dark
Where it ends looks just like
Where it starts

But if you've made your mind up
There's nothing left to do
But close the door
And wave goodbye to you

And remember

"Away From You"

(P. Kennerly, J. Ringenberg)

Here you stand there telling me
That you and I aren't meant to be
And you're not gonna let me come on through
Well ain't nothing in the world
Gonna keep me away from you

You can get a Sherman tank
Lock yourself up in a bank
Still I'll find a way to get on through
Ain't nothing in the world
Gonna keep me away from you

You should've known better
I won't stand to be alone
Better get yourself together
I'm gonna break that wall of stone

You can hire a bodyguard
A doberman inside the yard
That will not keep me from coming through
'Cause ain't nothing in the world
Gonna keep me away from you

You can get old Robert Lee
Patton and Mussolini
Get 'em all it don't matter what you do
Ain't nothing in the world
Gonna keep me away from you

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