That's the Way They Came to Us

The man he came with an accent, the lady came with a frown
That's the way they came to us, we did not try to change them
The man he was a talker, the lady closed her eyes
She would not be a party to another string of lies
Every word he spoke had the ring of Bombay
And the truth kept to the shadows, 'til she heard the swindler say

If you loan me your horses and one thousand in cash
I swear on the name of Rama I will pay you back
I will be in San Francisco for a month, maybe two
Collecting on a debt, then I will return to you

The lady came alive right then, the man he rattled on
That's the way they came to us, we did not try to change them
The lady pulled a butter knife, from the silver drawer
She sliced his Adam's apple and eased him to the floor
Then the lady spoke, in careful, measured tones
A daughter of the British Crown, a long, long way from home

If you loan me a horse and five hundred in cash
I swear on the name of Jesus I will pay you back
I will be in San Francisco for a month, maybe two
Collecting on a debt then I will return to you

My father took a seat while my mother wiped up blood
He pondered on the quandary and the violence that was done
He bowed his head and closed his eyes, then he prayed a spell
Might a helped, couldn't hurt, sorta hard to tell
Then my father spoke, he was calm like the moon
You could hear his stomach rumble, already half past noon

I will loan you a horse and four hundred in cash
I swear on the name of Jesus you will pay me back
I will be in San Francisco in one month, but not two
Collecting on this loan I'm about to make to you
And if you are not there with cash money in hand
You better hope you're on a ship to your far away land

That's the way they came to us
That's the way they came to us
That's the way they came to us