Initiation

As the sun rises in the east
As the wind blows the fog across the sea
As the hand of man creeps across the face of the world
Caught in a web of glamours
Persian perfume and oriental eyes
Yogi in knots and sufi wise
Master sublime and swami high
Through in some voodoo on the side
And a dash of the old kung fu
Lord you got me strung out on eastern intrigue
Chapter six and verse eleven
If you wanna get to heaven
You've got to ask the man who owns the property
Ya gotta dance your dance
And do your act
And get his big attention that's a natural born fact
I'm on my knees, one question please
Will the real god please stand up?

Jesus and moses, mohammed, and sri krishna
Steiner, gurdjief, blavatsky, and bhudda
Guru maharaji, reverend sun myung moon

On the banks of the holy nile
As the palm tree sways at the base of the sphinx
'neath a crescent desert moon many thousands
Younger than ours
In fact, forget about time completely
Think of it in the abstract please
Think of the swaying tropic trees
One of your many destinies
Like having a hot peyote tea
In the palace of fu manchu
Lord you got me strung out on eastern intrigue
Sell your wife and pawn your heater
Buy the new bhagavad gita
Do the pranayama 'til your spine gets sore
I'll tell you for free
'cause god told me
We checked it with the pope and so we all agree
I'm on my knees, one question please
Will the real god please sit down?

When i was a child
I thought as a child
I spoke as a child
I didn't know better
But now i'm a man
I look like a man
I'm old as a man
And i should know better
Got my head in the sky
And my mind knows what it wants
But my body just drags me down
And my world is something you can't see
But it's still very real to me
You can find it in the hole where i keep my soul
There it is - way down inside me
There's a real man
Forget about my body and be a real man

I see with my heart
I hear with my heart
I feel with my heart
Sometimes it works better
And some so-called friends put me down
And they pity me for trying
Bad emotions push me around
But the vision shines on and on
It will shine when we all are gone
And i'd like to add a little sparkle while i'm here
Light it up - way down inside me
There's a real man
Forget about bad feelings and be a real man

Some men's world is only hate and money
Afraid of everything and they laugh at nothing
And they only live to criticize
You can laugh at me now [ha ha ha]
But the time comes to everybody
When you must decide
When that day finally comes along
You might wish you'd been a little more strong
Then you'll wake up in the morning cryin'
"oh my god"
There it is - way down inside me
It's a real man
You got to grow up sometime
Be a real man
Suffer them slings and arrows
Be a real man
Now be a real man
Don't sell yourself for nothing
Be a real man
Don't take no crap from no one
Be a real man
Get your trip together
Be a real man

You know, wishing won't make it so
Hoping won't do it, praying won't do it
Religion won't do it, philosophy won't do it
The supreme court won't do it,
The president and the congress won't do it
The un won't do it, the h-bomb won't do it,
The sun and the moon won't do it
And god won't do it,
And i certainly won't do it
That leaves you, you'll have to do it

I know that you've been wondering
If i'm the same man inside
Never tried to fool you
'cause i've got nothing to hide
I gave you fair warning i could never be tied down
'til i've seen paradise with my very own eyes
Love owns us all, time owns us all, life owns us all
But the world doesn't own me
Dontcha follow me now
I ain't afraid to say i may have been wrong
I have to go now
I'd rather live by a dream than live by a lie
And that's why
There ain't no cure for what i've got baby
We just have to suffer
I feel no pain, i can't complain,
Things could always be rougher
But i picked up this banner
And i just can't put it down (no)
I can't let the world die just 'cause no one would try
Dontcha follow me now
Everybody's got to find his own place in the sun,
Everyone
So shine on me now
I'd rather live by a dream then live by a lie
You can say what you will about me
Talk is cheap and i don't mind
When you lay your life down in them grooves
You know you're bound to get scratched up sometime
It's only just a song, pay me no mind
I have to go now
You've got to walk that road alone
If you walk it at all
Don't follow me now
I gave you all fair warning
Now it's goodbye
And every once in a while why don't you think of me
'cause it's a long, long time and a long way to go
Can't you see the light shining in my eyes
'cause it's just one victory
'cause your dream goes on forever
Don't you know that i've been trying
To get my trip together
Be a real man
I got to be a real man
1, 2, 3, do it one more time
Be a real man
Everybody be a real man
Go then, don't believe, and i don't know
'cause i got to be a real man
You can be a man, a real man
I'll swim that river, climb that mountain
You and me, we all gotta be, real men

Just the other day i got a call from a friend
"i heard what you been playin' and i think it's a sin
Why can't you make a living like the rest of the boys
Instead of fillin' your head with all that synthesized noise?"
Jackals wait nearby, watching rock and roll die
And no one dared to help it
Vultures fill the sky
I thought we was supposed ta, supposed ta be free
But we all got sold
It must be the death of rock and roll
The critics got together and they started a game
You get your records for nothing
And you call each other names
Things got out of hand and somebody got sore
Now we're all tuning up for the rock and roll war
Time to take up sides, helping rock and roll die
Pick up your check at the window
No one left to cry
I thought we was supposed ta, supposed ta be free
But we all got sold
It must be the death of rock and roll
Nobody paid, nobody played, nobody stayed
Just my lonely guitar
Nobody paid, nobody stayed, nobody played
Just my lonely guitar