Bb F
There ain't no reason things are this way
C Dm
It's how they' always been and they intend to stay
C Bb F
I can't explain why we live this way
C
We do it every day
Bb F
Preachers on the podium speakin' of saints
C Dm
Prophets on the sidewalk beggin' for change
C Bb F
Old ladies laughin' from the fire escape
C
Cursin' my name
-same chords throughout the rest-
I got a basket full of lemons and they all taste the same
A window and a pigeon with a broken wing
You can spend your whole life workin' for something
Just to have it taken away
People walk around pushin' back their debts
Wearin' paychecks like necklaces and bracelets
Talkin' 'bout nothin', not thinkin' 'bout death
Every little heartbeat, every little breath
People walk a tightrope on a razor's edge
Carryin' their hurt and hatred and weapons
It could be a bomb or a bullet or a pen
Or a thought or a word or a sentence
There ain't no reason things are this way
It's how they' always been and they intend to stay
I don't know why I say the things I say
But I say them anyway
Dm Bb C
But love will come set me free
Dm Bb C
Love will come set me free, I do believe
Dm Bb C
Love will come set me free, I know it will
Dm Bb C
Love will come set me free, yes
Bb F
Prison walls still standin' tall
C Dm
Some things never change at all
C Bb F
Keep on buildin' prisons, gonna fill them all
C
Keep on buildin' bombs, gonna drop them all
Bb F
Workin' your fingers bare to the bones
C Dm
Breakin' your back, make you sell your soul
C Bb F
Like a lung that's filled with coal
C
Suffocatin' slow
The wind blows wild and I may move
But politicians lie and I am not fooled
You don't need no reason or a three-piece suit
To argue the truth
The air on my skin and world under my toes
Slavery stitched into the fabric of my clothes
Chaos and commotion wherever I go
Love I try to follow
Dm Bb C
But love will come set me free
Dm Bb C
Love will come set me free, I do believe
Dm Bb C
Love will come set me free, I know it will
Dm Bb C
Love will come set me free, yes
There ain't no reason things are this way
It's how they' always been and they intend to stay
I can't explain why we live this way
We do it every day