Somebody laughs, somebody's crying,
Finding it rough on the streets today;
Somebody's born, somebody's dying,
Living is tough on the streets today.
Words in the House, ministers talking,
Government fears for the streets today;
Winter is near, death is out stalking,
Crocodile tears for the streets today.
So here's the miracle they said was sure to come,
Abandoning the old ideals and leaving them decay;
Thirty crowns of silver to betray a nation's soul,
Lying on the streets today.
They used to say the city's streets were paved with brightest gold,
And talk of fortunes won and lost by those with souls to sell.
Had they ever seen the hollow mountains, mined for all they hold,
Standing, silent, in the gloom, like sentinels of hell?
There's a train in the station, it's another arrival,
For charity care on the streets today;
More to enlist in the fight for survival,
Is humanity there, on the streets today?
So here's the miracle they said was sure to come,
Abandoning the old ideals and leaving them decay;
Thirty crowns of silver to betray a nation's soul,
Dying on the streets today.
1993