I thought I'd take a walk today
It's a mistake I sometimes make
My kids lay asleep in bed
My wife lay wide-awake
I kissed her softly on the brow
I tried not to make a sound
But with stony eyes she looked at me
And gently squeezed my hand
Call it a premonition, call it a crazy vision
Call it intuition, something learned from mother
But when she looked up at me, I could clearly see
The sword of Damocles hanging directly above her
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms around me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord

They called at me through the fence
They were not making any sense
They claimed that I had lost the plot
Kept saying that I was not
The man I used to be
They held their babes aloft
Threw marshmallows at the security
And said that I'd grown soft
Call it intuition, call it a creeping suspicion,
But their words of derision meant they hardly knew me
For even I could see in the way they stared at me
The spear of destiny sticking right through me
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms round me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord

Now I'm at the hairdressers
People watch me as they move past
A guy wearing plastic antlers
Presses his bum against the glass
Now I'm down on my hands and knees
And it's so fucking hot!
Someone cries, "What are you looking for?"
I scream, "The plot, the plot!"
I grab my telephone, I call my wife at home
She screams, "Leave us alone!" I say, "Hey, it's only me"
The hairdresser with his scissors, he holds up the mirror
I look back and shiver, I can't even believe what I can see

Be mindful of the prayers you send
Pray hard but pray with care
For the tears that you are crying now
Are just your answered prayers
The ladders of life that we scale merrily
Move mysteriously around
So that when you think you're climbing up, man
In fact you're climbing down
Into the hollows of glamour, where with spike and hammer
With telescopic camera, they chose to turn the screw
Oh I hate them, ma!
Oh I hate them, pa!
Oh I hate them all for what they went and done to you
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms 'round me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord

Copyright: BMG Rights Management
Writer(s): Nicholas Cave