Orenda Fink Follow

Something's happened, now you're far away
You had to leave, no time to explain
I called Brother said, "Mother's gone
The red bird came and took her off.
I asked, "Will she be in heaven above
All over my shoulder like a carrier dove?"

He said, "One, two, three, four-
There ain't no devil, there ain't no Lord.
Five, six, seven, eight-
Only love, only hate."

I went to preacher to seek the truth
The wisest man that I knew -
The preacher had fallen, his collar torn
He slept with the bottle, his face unshorn
He looked at me with bloodshot eyes
A beaten man can tell no lies-

He said, "Prophets, pimps, angels, whores
There ain't no devil, there ain't no Lord.
Money grows to fill the preacher's bank
He saves your soul for himself to take."

I travelled the world to understand
The words he spoke were no man's
I came to an island of beauty and pain
Shimmering souls, untamed
And now children, talking bright
Sing to me in the night-

They sing, "One, two, three, four,
There ain't no devil, there ain't no lord.
Five, six, seven, eight,
Invisible ones guard the gate.
Invisible ones guard the gate."