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The Nightwatchman
The Nightwatchman


Background information
Birth name Thomas Baptiste Morello
Born May 30, 1964
Born place New York City
Origin Los Angeles, California, United States
Genre(s) Folk
Folk-Rock
Acoustic Rock
Alternative Rock
Anti-folk
Years active 2003—present
Label(s) Epic Records
Associated acts Serj Tankian
Axis of Justice
Street Sweeper Social Club
Rage Against the Machine
Audioslave
Lock Up
Electric Sheep
Shooter Jennings
Perry Farrell
Website Website



Music World  →  Lyrics  →  T  →  The Nightwatchman  →  Albums  →  The Fabled City

The Nightwatchman Album


The Fabled City (09/30/2008)
09/30/2008
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Lazarus On Down (feat. Serj Tankian)
9.
10.
The Iron Wheel (feat. Shooter Jennings)
11.
*
Facing Mount Kenya (iTunes bonus track)
*
Shake My Shit (feat. Perry Farrell; iTunes bonus track)
*
Shadow of the Cannon (bonus track)
*
Fighting Song (bonus track)
*
Stars of Orion (bonus track)
. . .


Me and Javi
Shouted slogans in Spanish
Like it was our world to win
Then they moved the plant
Down to Ojeda
Time to bite your tongue again

I've seen the fabled city
And its streets are paved with gold
But an iron fence runs 'round it
And its iron gate is closed

What ain't right ain't right
He told me
But something else passed behind his eyes
Now he's downtown on his knees
Washing floors for somebody
And quietly biding his time

I've seen the fabled city
And its streets are paved with gold
But an iron fence runs round it
And its iron gate is closed

At the gas station
On Sunset and Crescent
I met an angel sad and old
She lived in the alley
Behind the market
In the shadows maybe hidden from the Lord
And for a dollar
She sang a song
That sounded more like a prayer
A wish that her dead mother and father
Couldn't look down and see her there

I've seen the fabled city
And its streets are paved with gold
But an iron fence runs round it
And its iron gate is closed

On the wire outside my window
There sit 100 swallows
And I suspect that if one flew
Then 99 would follow

. . .


Storm clouds won't bother to gather
She cashed in cut the tether
She's gone
It's no mistake
The angels
Have come too late
They've come too late

In my hands I hold the proof

That something's sure to hit you
Pure flesh and bone to rip through
Don't let ‘em tie you to the stake
Whatever it takes
Flood waters raise the ramparts
I'll meet you now wherever you are
I'm here until the frontline breaks
Whatever it takes

Then she turned off the headlights
Cranked the radio
Ran the red lights
Never found
The missing bride
Windows dark
But they're all inside
They're all inside
In my hands I hold the proof

That something's sure to hit you
Pure flesh and bone to rip through
Don't let 'em tie you to the stake
Whatever it takes
Flood waters raise the ramparts
I'll meet you now wherever you are
I'm here until the frontline breaks
Whatever it takes

A general without an army
I stopped lookin' then they found me
On the hill
A horn is blowin'
It's over man
You just don't know it

That something's sure to hit you
Pure flesh and bone to rip through
Don't let 'em tie you to the stake
Whatever it takes
Flood waters raise the ramparts
I'll meet you now wherever you are
I'm here until the frontline breaks
Whatever it takes

Climb backwards through the red room
A jungle of thieves to get through
Time's up how long you gonna wait
Whatever it takes
So, Jack, grab paper and pen
I'll say it once won't say it again
Loosen the core until it shakes
Whatever it takes

. . .


Released from reason
Alive with pain
The actors change
The play's the same
As he and his ministers conversed
I peeked out from behind the well
And oh how I was surprised to learn
The devil's not the king of hell

The devil is not the king of hell
The devil is not the king of hell
A violent dance on slippery stones
The line's gone dead
We're all alone
The devil is not the king of hell

Smelling victory
The engine hums
Off in the distance
They beat the drums
Amidst the blood and rubble
I looked for souvenirs to sell
And oh how I was surprised to learn
The devil's not the king of hell

The devil is not the king of hell
The devil is not the king of hell
A violent dance on slippery stones
The line's gone dead
We're all alone
The devil is not the king of hell

Black was the mark
Black was the mark
Black was the mark laid on Cain
Black was the list
Black was the list
Black was the list with our names

Black was the mark
Black was the mark
Black was the mark laid on Cain
Black was the list
Black was the list
Black was the list with our names

The devil is not the king of hell
The devil is not the king of hell
A violent dance on slippery stones
The line's gone dead
We're all alone
The devil is not the king of hell

Tonight I'm gonna do some things
That I've never done before
I'm gonna find out what the screaming's about
On the other side of that door
So don't you bother calling
There ain't nobody home
Sometimes we've got to stand together
Sometimes alone

The devil is not the king of hell
The devil is not the king of hell
A violent dance on slippery stones
The line's gone dead
We're all alone
The devil is not the king of hell
The devil is not the king of hell

A violent dance on slippery stones
The line's gone dead
The line's gone dead
The line's gone dead
The line's gone dead
The devil is not the king of hell

. . .


She warned him not to go
He said I've got to go
She whispered I love you so
He said I've got to go
Night falls on the river valley
Night falls on the mines and fields
Night falls on the just and unjust
Night falls

In the next town there's trouble needs straightenin' out
There's dynamite under the porch
Me and my four kids are hungry
A man's yellin' through the screen door

Night falls on the river valley
Night falls on the mines and fields
Night falls on the just and unjust
Night falls

On they came in the morning
Shoulder to shoulder, end to end
You don't have to speak
You just have to stand

Steve Sutton died there on the bridge
Local 393 was born
A black and white picture of the coming of the Lord
The dam is broken, the river come

Night falls on the river valley
Night falls on the mines and fields
Night falls on the just and unjust
Night falls

She warned him not to go
He said I've got to go
She whispered I love you so
Night falls

. . .


Stand back stormtroopers attack
On a bright May Day, man I'm gettin' soft
I don't know what do you think?
Looks like 10 fat pigs at a 9 pig trough

And the lights are on in Spidertown

Sittin' back of the class
Iron chains, lead weights, taught rope
Holdin' down my will
I don't know what do you think?
I say we do anything just to take that hill

And the lights are on in Spidertown

The sky is falling down, falling down
The sky is falling down
The world's stopped turning, turning 'round
And the lights are on in Spidertown

Silent night and the wind crashes right
Put a wig on the heiress rob the bank and pray
I don't know what do you think?
Please don't do as I do just do as I say

'Cause the lights are on in Spidertown

. . .


There's an old green shed at the end of an overgrown driveway
And years ago that shed collapsed and fell
Years before that there was a withered dog chained up there
I saved him, maybe he saved me as well
Now he's gone and I think I've come undone
And it's midnight in the city of destruction

There's music in the air and sweet abandon
They're singin' cross the farm in the evening breeze
But there's someone in the rows who's unwanted
And now they've cut the faithful from the trees
And the bulldozers move in one by one
It's midnight in the city of destruction

I lost my guitar, my home, my hope and my good fortune
I lost my grandfather, two neighbors and my friend
I pray that God himself will come and drown the president
If the levees break again
Now we're standin' at the crossroads waitin' for instruction
And it's midnight in the city of destruction

There's a secret prison somewhere south of 60
And in that secret prison there's a secret cell
And the prisoner's bound and burned, blinded and beaten
Still that secret prisoner keeps his secret well
Turn out the lights 'cause for one night that's enough, son
It's midnight in the city of destruction

. . .


Innocence and suffering
Loneliness and grace
Pain and love and beauty
Laughter death and faith
Where the rising fortune
Meets the setting sun
I'm afraid my friend when one is left
It's just the same as none

I will always stand beside you
Defend you and mend you and sanctify you
I'll hold you and keep you and fight beside you
And follow you down love
I'm right behind you
God make her road straight
God make her road true
Saint Isabelle is coming through

The textbook's on the table
The radio's on the shelf
And thank you for the offer
But I'll sing this one myself
In reverential silence
The crowd sat in the pews
I climbed and climbed for hours
But oh my what a view

I will always stand beside you
Defend you and mend you and sanctify you
I'll hold you and keep you and fight beside you
And follow you down love
I'm right behind you
God make her road straight
God make her road true
Saint Isabelle is coming through

I'm surprised you didn't come forward
When the cops dragged me away
There's a museum in the Netherlands
I hope to see again someday
There's a painting of a woman
Gathering wood it's almost dark
In a world bereft of meaning
There's a flicker in the hearth

I will always stand beside you
Defend you and mend you, sanctify you
I'll hold you and keep you and fight beside you
And follow you down love
I'm right behind you
And follow you down love
I'm right behind you
And follow you down love
I'm right behind you

God make her road straight
God make her road true
Saint Isabelle is coming through
God make her road straight
God make her road true
Saint Isabelle is coming through

. . .


I been tearin'
And I've been torn
The temple steps
Are smooth and worn
What Judas been doin'
There ain't no knowin'
On the olive vines
Somethin' different's growin'

Lazarus on down
Lazarus on down
Let's push on through
Nah, let's go around
Lazarus on down

One-eyed crow
Tappin' on the window pane
Little boy raised a cup
In Caiaphas' name
In the Potter's Field
Blood beneath the tree
That money's gone, son
What's left you owe me

Lazarus on down
Lazarus on down
Let's push on through
Nah, let's turn around
Lazarus on down

Sound of thunder
Smell of burnin' oil
What's that movin'
Just beneath the soil
Street light's out
Dark shape on the ground
Lazarus on down

Is that hope
In the sheperds' eyes
Or just another
Little dark surprise
I'm just like you, Dad
Thin & cold
If you didn't know it
Well now you know

. . .


With downcast eyes
The multitude sat
As the cattle cars pulled
Along the rusty tracks
One raised his hand
In the fading light
Said, excuse me sir
This doesn't seem right
Now he's…

Gone like whispers
Gone like rain
Gone like the faithful
While the faithless remain
Gone like the stone
The builder refused
Gone and overdue

There's a river in Texas
With a strong undertow
No one crosses it to freedom
No one pans for gold
Its waters are clear
But its waters are cold
Its current is swift
And no one knows where it goes
It's just…

Gone like whispers
Gone like rain
Gone like the faithful
While the faithless remain
Gone like the stone
The builder refused
Gone and overdue

In a cold desert corner
Don't appear on no map
Coyote's scream
Rips the night in half
He hears the devil coming
Footsteps on the path
So he chews off his own leg
To get out of the trap
And he's…

Gone like whispers
Gone like rain
Gone like the faithful
While the faithless remain
Gone like the stone
The builder refused
Gone and overdue

. . .


Sometimes they'll tell you to just sit still
When you know that it's time to run
Sometimes they'll tell you it's all over
When you're sure that it's just begun

The iron wheel slowly spins around
It takes you from the cradle
'Til you're six feet underground
You can push and pull against it
But you'll ride it 'til it's through
And those who spin the wheel
Well those fuckers ride it too

Sometimes they'll tell you to move along
When you're sure you should stand and fight
Sometimes they'll tell you you're a lucky man
But the numbers they don't add up right

The iron wheel slowly spins around
It takes you from the cradle
'Til you're six feet underground
You can push and pull against it
But you'll ride it 'til it's through
And those who spin the wheel
Well those fuckers ride it too

The good wife rides the wheel
As the years just slip away
T.V. preacher rides the wheel
As he leads the flock astray
Lady Justice rides the wheel
But her balance is unsure
Cause the truth it lies in pieces
Scattered on the newsroom floor

Sometimes they'll tell you to just let go
When you're sure you should hold on tight
Sometimes they'll tell you your time
Will never come
When you're sure that your time's come tonight

The iron wheel slowly spins around
It takes you from the cradle
'Til you're six feet underground
You can push and pull against it
But you'll ride it 'til it's through
And those who spin the wheel
Well those fuckers ride it too

. . .


I counted to one hundred
I kept losin' track
I wrote one hundred letters
No one wrote back
I told one hundred stories
But all of them got twisted
I sang one hundred songs
But nobody listened

You've got to rise to power
Rise to power
Baby, you've got to rise to power
Rise to power
Rise to power
Ain't a shade of difference
'Tween the heroes and the cowards
Baby, you've got to rise to power

Forced confessions
And coming attractions
Delusions of grandeur
Split into factions
A silent dark Camelot
A kingdom grey and bland
A dull empty heaven
A strong leader's hand

You've got to rise to power
Rise to power
Baby, you've got to rise to power
Rise to power
Rise to power
You're down on your knees
Pullin' up the flowers
Baby, you've got to rise to power

No holy water
Can wash me clean
No angel of mercy
To hear my screams
Into your embrace
I'm ever driven
And in your arms
Unforgiven

You've got to rise to power
Rise to power
Baby, you've got to rise to power
Rise to power
Rise to power
The whole world's watchin'
There's a gunman in the tower
Baby, you've got to rise to power

. . .

Facing Mount Kenya

[No lyrics]

. . .

Shake My Shit

[No lyrics]

. . .

Shadow of the Cannon

[No lyrics]

. . .

Fighting Song

[No lyrics]

. . .

Stars of Orion

[No lyrics]

. . .


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