The Knife

I've been thinking a lot
About doors and locks
And old people's homes
About walls and borders
And law and order
And living alone

And I've been really tryin'
To resist resigning
To this hopeless feeling
Of hatred and fear
Of the far and near
Cause it's all too convenient

And I'm sick of claiming
That the points I'm making
Are wiser than yours
Cuz I stole my truths
From books, old and used
And they've all been said before

The wiseman sits 'neath the willow tree
While the madman fights for total sovereignty
And I was born with a mystic's mind
But still my hand reaches for the knife

I've been thinkin' lately
About retirin' safely
And mortgage loans
About competition
And displacing ambition
And livin' alone

I been really wondrin'
If blood means something
Is it freedom or fate?
Is the story of history
What I do or I don't see
Of the shining or the slave?

Cuz I swear these books
Tell me that nature looks
A lot like the economy
That life is a contest
Set on conquest
Callous, godless, and free!

The Buddha sits 'neath the willow tree
While Alexander fights for total sovereignty
And I was born with a mystic's mind
But still my hand reaches for the knife