Sirens

From the Album: The Sounding (1986)
I sat up and watched the sky
Felt cold water as it flowed by
And I knew nothing in the world
Could ever harm me
I've seen hurt and I've heard their lies
I've watched murder with open eyes
And I've stumbled through the dark
You'll never harm me
On a fountain in the park
There is engraved a simple rhyme
It has come down through the ages
Through the ages for all time
If you lean in close to read it
Falling water all around
You will hear a simple secret
And you'll wonder at the sound
All these places
Like still waters of hatred
Like the fathers of great men
Fade into the moonlight
I've been witness but never cried
As the sticks and the stones roll by
Though they rumble through the dark
They'll never harm me
But you wonder how this came to be
You question and you fight
And you're searching for the secret
But the secrets not in sight
So you walk up to the devil
With this fire in your hand
All your wisdom, all your knowledge
Drys to dust and turns to sand
All these places
Like still waters of hatred
Like the fathers of great men
Fade into the moonlight
All these faces
All great fires surround me
All the sirens around me
Look like you look tonight