Sept 15th 1983

[Verse 1]
Long dinner with some friends
Way out way out in Portmore
Servants of the pharaoh
Slip in through the open door
All business
Bearing knives and zip-guns
So get on the floor now
Every last one, every last one

[Chorus]
The heat drifts
Across the land
If I forget you, Israel
Let me forget my right hand

[Verse 2]
And on the floor, Michael James Williams
Feels his fingers start to freeze
And the whole scene's like a movie
Paramedics on their knees
Try, try your whole life
To be righteous and be good
Wind up on your own floor
Choking on blood

[Chorus]
The heat drifts
Across the land
If I forget you, Israel
Let me forget my right hand

[Verse 3]
And the house still smells like onions
When the ambulance arrives
Gabriel in postal blue
Loads up the car and drives
To Spanish Town
About three miles away
Where will the wicked run to
On that last day, on that last day?

[Chorus]
The heat drifts
Across the land
If I forget you, Israel
Let me forget my right hand