Valley of Death

I know what it means to get knock-down drunk
I was lyin' in a bush by the cold
Where the river runs deep and the demons don't sleep
And the water's obscured by the smoke

Well I drug myself to the river's edge
And I drank like a dog on the sand
It burned my tongue, my whole head got spun
And I stood on a stone and I spoke to the wind and the rain

I said I know what it means to get left for dead
When the saints rise up at the sound
When the spirits all move and the chains in the shoes
And the crack of the gun's all around

I know how it is to get all dressed up
Nobody would know where to go
With a fifth and your best and some bills on your tongue
And a gun lookin' out across the valley at the shadow below, oh

Well I preached to the bums and I preached to the birds
'Til a crowd had started to form
My disciples they came through the wind and the rain
And their rags and their jackets all torn

Well I prophesied of the things to come
And I jumped like a bug on a wall
'Til my head it was through with a river-strange brew
And I sunk to my knees in that breeze and I started to pray

I said hey, you know I ain't got a dang thing to say
With a head full of booze there ain't nothin' to lose
For a creature what's made out of clay, hey

I said I know what it means to get left for dead
When the saints rise up at the sound
When the spirits all move and the chains in the shoes
And the crack of the gun's all around

I know how it is to get all dressed up
Nobody would know where to go
With a fifth and your best and some bills on your tongue
And a gun lookin' out across the valley at the shadow below, oh