Counting Down the Hours

Innocence, it don't come easy, in a sense, it never will

Accidents mean no one's guilty, ignorance means someone's killed

So I asked our Mr. Mellor how to get to where one's going

And he points to his survival and he points me down the road

And I go on, wondering if I've got a soul

And counting down the hours 'til it goes

On a dark, wet night in April, on a street in Jersey where

I went looking for some writing that I knew would not be there

And a punter from the Pelhams and the police in the rain

Were concerned more with a car than with the fact the light had changed

But after listening all morning as I drove down 95

To a story of detainees who were barely kept alive

I could deal with trying to process pigeons acting like they're doves

But not with interference from the power lines above

And I go on, wondering if I've got a soul

And counting down the hours 'til it goes

Oh, precautions, yes, precautions

But if you're playing with a gun you could kill someone

And in the dark it's hard to know a friend

But I'm not angry, I won't be forever angry

As I'm walking toward tomorrow with a rifle in my hand

And I'm thinking about New England but I'm missing old Japan

And a mountain in California where a spring runs hot and cold

And if I told you I felt ageless, would you tell me I'm not old?

And I go on, wondering if I've got a soul

And counting down the hours 'til it goes