Darkness at the break of noon Shadows even the silver spoon The handmade blade, the child's balloon Eclipses both the sun and moon To understand you know too soon There is no sense in trying Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn Suicide remarks are torn From the fool's gold mouthpiece The hollow horn plays wasted words Proves to warn that he not busy being born Is busy dying Temptation's page flies out the door You follow, find yourself at war Watch waterfalls of pity roar You feel to moan but unlike before You discover that you'd just be, one more person crying So don't fear, if you hear A foreign sound to your ear It's alright, ma, I'm only sighing As some warn victory, some downfall Private reasons, great or small Can be seen in the eyes of those that call To make all that should be killed to crawl While, others say don't hate nothing at all except hatred Disillusioned words like bullets bark As human gods aim for their mark Can make everything from toy guns that spark To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark It's easy to see without looking too far Their not much is really sacred While, preachers preach of evil fates Teachers teach that knowledge waits Can lead to 100 dollar plates Goodness hides behind its gates But even the president of the United States Sometimes must have to stand naked And all the rules of the road have been lodged It's only people's games that you got to dodge And it's alright, ma, I can make it Advertising signs that con you, into thinking you're the one That can do what's never been done That can win what's never been won Meantime life outside goes on all around you You lose yourself, you reappear You suddenly find you got nothing to fear Alone you stand with nobody near When a trembling distant voice, unclear Startles your sleeping ears to hear That somebody thinks they really found you A question in your nerves is lit Yet you know there is no answer fit To satisfy ensure you not to quit To keep it in your mind and not forget That it is not he or she or them or it that you belong to Although the masters, make the rules For the wise men and the fools I got nothing ma, to live up to For them that must obey authority That they do not respect in any degree Who despise their jobs, their destinies Speak jealousy of them that are free Do what they do just to be nothing more than something they invest in While some on principles baptized To strict party platform ties Social clubs in drag disguise Outsiders they can freely criticize Tell nothing except who to idolize And say God bless him While one who sings with his tongue on fire Gargles in the rat race choir Bent out of shape from society's pliers Cares not to come up any higher But rather get you down in the hole that he's in But I mean no harm, nor put fault On anyone that lives in a vault But it's alright ma, if I can't please him Old lady judges watch people in pairs Limited in sex, they dare To push fake morals, insult and stare While, money doesn't talk, it swears Obscenity, who really cares Propaganda, all is phony While, them that defend what they cannot see With a killer's pride, security It blows the minds most bitterly For them that think death's honesty Won't fall upon them naturally Life sometimes must get lonely My eyes collide head-on with stuffed graveyards False gods, I scuff at pettiness which plays so rough Walk upside-down inside handcuffs Kick my legs to crash it off Say, "Okay, I have had enough What else can you show me?" And if my thought-dreams could be seen They'd probably put my head, in a guillotine But it's alright, ma, it's life and life only

How can I keep on smiling at their disguise? When I know nothing good ever comes from lies My heart is no beginner now But still I can lose my temper, hey How can we keep on watching that fucking TV? We're so bored we don't even care what we see Takes our strength away And never, never shows us the way, no But I think I know the answer It's only mystery and I like it It's only mystery and I like it It's only mystery and I like it It's only mystery How can the banks of a river meet? Sitting on her bed, staring at her feet She thinks life is water And love, love is a river, oh yeah But is a child the answer? It's only mystery and I like it It's only mystery and I like it It's only mystery and I like it It's only mystery We could dream of a grand evolution Where we wouldn't ask anymore questions There will be no, no more pretenders, yeah, mm-mm Use the love that I offer Dreaming is not the answer, mm It's only mystery No-no-no-no-no-no No-no-no-no-no-no It's only mystery, woah Only mystery, mhmm yeah Well, it's only mystery Woah, one time that's only mystery

I laid awake, in my bed, all night long last night. Thinking about everything that's going on, in my life. And I came to the conclusion that all of my confusion is natural. It's not a crazy notion, like water in the ocean has it's flow. So I'm alright. I took a breath, closed my eyes, came to God humbly. I didn't ask for answer but, Lord, You answered me. You gave me Your direction, like still waters' clear reflection, You helped me see. That Your will is the best, and I don't have to stress, if I believe. He said, "Be still and know that I am God," rest knowing that I have fought this war for you. There's no shame in feeling lost; broken paths lead to the cross. So you'll be alright. Now I know that life might always be just one confusing mess. But I will do the best and I can and let You do the rest.

Alguma coisa acontece no meu coração Que só quando cruzo a Ipiranga e a Avenida São João É que quando eu cheguei por aqui, eu nada entendi Da dura poesia concreta de tuas esquinas Da deselegância discreta de tuas meninas Ainda não havia para mim, Rita Lee A tua mais completa tradução Alguma coisa acontece no meu coração Que só quando cruzo a Ipiranga e a Avenida São João Quando eu te encarei frente a frente, não vi o meu rosto Chamei de mau gosto o que vi De mau gosto, mau gosto É que Narciso acha feio o que não é espelho E a mente apavora o que ainda não é mesmo velho Nada do que não era antes quando não somos mutantes E foste um difícil começo Afasto o que não conheço E quem vende outro sonho feliz de cidade Aprende de pressa a chamar-te de realidade Porque és o avesso do avesso, do avesso, do avesso Do povo oprimido nas filas, nas vilas, favelas Da força da grana que ergue e destrói coisas belas Da feia fumaça que sobe apagando as estrelas Eu vejo surgir teus poetas de campos e espaços Tuas oficinas de florestas, teus deuses da chuva Panaméricas de Áfricas utópicas, túmulo do samba Mais possível novo Quilombo de Zumbi E os novos baianos passeiam na tua garoa E novos baianos te podem curtir numa boa