Johnny Cash: Mercy seat

It all began when they took me from my homeAnd put me on Death Row,A crime for which I am totally innocent, you know.I began to warm and chillTo objects and their fields,A ragged cup, a twisted mopThe face of Jesus in my soupThose sinister dinner dealsThe meal trolley's wicked wheelsA hooked bone rising from my foodAnd all things either good or ungood.And the mercy seat is waitingAnd I think my head is burningAnd in a way I'm yearningTo be done with all this weighing of the truth.An eye for an eye and a tooth for a toothAnd anyway I told the truthAnd I'm not afraid to die.I hear stories from the chamberChrist was born into a mangerAnd like some ragged strangerHe died upon the crossMight I say it seems so fitting in its wayHe was a carpenter by tradeOr at least that's what I'm toldMy kill hand's tatooed E.V.I.L.Across it's brother's fistThat filthy five!They did nothing to challenge or resist.In Heaven His throne is made of goldThe ark of his Testament is stowedA throne from which I'm toldAll history does unfold.It's made of wood and wireAnd my body is on fireAnd God is never far away.Into the mercy seat I climbMy head is shaved, my head is wiredAnd like a moth that triesTo enter the bright eyeI go shuffling out of lifeJust to hide in death awhileAnd anyway I never lied.And the mercy seat is waitingAnd I think my head is burningAnd in a way I'm yearningTo be done with all this weighing of the truth.An eye for an eyeAnd a tooth for a toothAnd anyway I told the truthAnd I'm not afraid to die.And the mercy seat is burningAnd I think my head is glowingAnd in a way I'm hopingTo be done with all this twisting of the truth.An eye for an eye and a tooth for a toothAnd anyway there was no proofAnd I'm not afraid to die.And the mercy seat is glowingAnd I think my head is smokingAnd in a way I'm hopingTo be done with all these looks of disbelief.A life for a life and a truth for a truthAnd I've got nothing left to loseAnd I'm not afraid to die.And the mercy seat is smokingAnd I think my head is meltingAnd in a way that's helpingTo be done with all this twisting of the truth.An eye for an eye and a tooth for a toothAnd anyway I told the truthBut I'm afraid I told a lie.