Paid Vacation

It's a peaceful thing to know that freedom as a rule belongs to me
There's something very wrong when the color of a man is all you see
After all this time how can a single voice explain
Any reason for the pain we all have seen
It's not a dream

Chorus:
One man stood tall
And faced the devil with his back to the wall
And took one step closer to heaven above

So he took a stand and walked where no one else would dare to even try
It was the only way
If not for bravery, the soul would surely die
And right before my eyes he gave his life unselfishly
So that all the father's children could be free
Like you and me

Repeat chorus

Before his work is done
We've got to put an end to this game of choosing sides
I want us to be one
And i won't let it go 'till it's over
I'm here waiting

Repeat chorus

I'm waiting, waiting

Your situation's in need of help
You're gettin' so you don't know yourself
You wear his ring like a cheap disguise
But i can see you got wandering eyes
Don't believe it's just the clothes that make the man
No one else can love you like i know i can

Chorus:
I got what you want
Takes more than money to turn you on
I got what you need
C'mon baby take a chance on me

Somethin' 'bout your smile seems counterfeit
It ain't in you to be a hypocrite
So he's got a mansion, got lots of cash
You live like a queen but feel like trash
I can save you if you put your heart in mine
Baby, can't you see, we're two of the same kind, yeah

Repeat chorus

Baby, there ain't nothin' keeping chains on you
Don't you let your head make up your mind

I can't get you off my mind
I'm afraid i may go blind
Won't you let me take you for a ride, yeah

I've seen the lights go out on broadway,
I saw the empire state laid low.
And life went on beyond the palaces.
They all bought cadillacs,
Left there long ago

We held a concert out in brooklyn.
To watch the island bridges blow.
It turned our power down,
And drove us underground,
But we went right on with the show.

I've seen the lights go out on broadway,
I saw the ruins at life end.
You know we almost didn't notice it,
We see it all the time
On 42nd street

It burned the churches up in harlem
Like in that spanish civil war.
The flames were everywhere,
And no one really cared,
It always burned up there before

I've seen the rats lie down on broadway,
And i watched the miami skyline fall.
The folks were waving at the battery
The union went on strike
They never settled it out.

They sent a carrier out from norfolk,
And picked the yankees up for free.
They said the queens could stay
And threw the crowns away,
And sent manhattan out to sea.

She knows those lights right on broadway
That was so many years ago.
Before we all lived in florida.
Before the mafia,
Took over mexico.

There are too many who remember.
They say a handful still survive.
To tell the world about,
The way the lights went out,
To keep the memory alive.

There in my darkest hour, somehow you knew what i felt
And just in the nick of time you saved me from myself
Didn't know i could cut through my defenses
And see through the mask
I figured you must want something from me, but you never asked
I just had to call and you were always there
I think you must have been the answer to my prayer

With you i've got nothing to hide
My heart is starting to pound
Now the walls are tumbling down

I wish i could find the words that linger just out of reach
I see myself in your eyes and lose my power of speech
I am someone now that i don't recognize
It took someone like you to shatter my disguise

Now i've got nothing to hide
My heart's remembering to pound
I can feel the walls coming down
I've got nothing to hide
All that i needed was you around
Now the walls are tumbling down

Head in the sky, feeling just like some kind of lovesick child
I finally pulled through, and i owe it to you, don't want to keep it inside

I am someone now that i don't recognize
Oh i'm healing, i'm believing, you made me realize

There is no understanding in this hostile age
Sometimes i feel just like a rat locked in a cage
It's hard to live beyond the walls
It ain't no life at all
But don't you tear it down

Chorus:
Take your chances, i'll take mine
Chasing thunder is only wasted time
Got no reason to walk that line
Heaven's waiting if i can make it home tonight

And with the years i've found a faith that gets me by
It shows me the truth in a hurricane of lies
My baby's left a light for me
That's really all i need
They won't bring me down

Repeat chorus

Aimlessly rushing leaves you with nothing
You need some loving to make you feel alive
In less than a moment, life can be stolen
I know where i'm going, gotta get me there tonight

I'm holding on to what i can
Like any other lucky man
Love won't strike me, love won't sell me out

Repeat chorus

Nowhere to hide, you can't escape the fun
No matter where you run
All that is gone with the times
And time will tell on you if you don't carry through
You've got your soul on the line

Long as you know which side the sun rises on everyone
Wherever you go you'll understand
Holding the light in the center of your hand, there's a


Chorus:
Whole world to save
There's a whole world to save
You can start any place, there's a
Whole world to save, whole world
Not any reason to wait

You're alone, you and everything with a face
Why'd they call it human race?
All in a world of our own
I think it's gone far enough, i say we call their bluff
Somebody's got to be strong
If you get one wild night in life, oh, you'd better get it right
If it's the only life you get
What is it worth if it's you and nothing left, there's a


Repeat chorus

Making a difference, seeing what nobody sees
I won't wait for a deliverance 'cause i know it's waiting for me

Long as you know which side the sun rises on everyone
Wherever you go, you'll understand
Holding the light in the center of your hand, there's a

Repeat chorus

You never know what we could be in store for
The way it goes we're in for more of the same
One step beyond the flame
The thread of life, the finely woven pattern
Reveals designs in silent laughter and rhyme
One picture at a time

Chorus:
There ain't nothing left behind us
Not a doubt inside us
If the angel calls tomorrow, there's nothing we haven't said
There ain't nothing left behind us
Nothing but a blind trust
I would beg, steal or borrow to never lose you again

It's down to us to figure out the secret
It's not enough to wait for pieces to fall
The writing isn't on the wall
Take my hand, we'll face the fire together
To distant lands, but we can weather the storm
Keeping each other warm

Repeat chorus

There's never been an easy way
Everybody is bound to make mistakes
You just do what you think is right
Then laugh 'til you cry 'til you scream at the night

Repeat chorus