Once upon a time 

And not so long ago 

When things were much more simple 

And time would travel slow 

There came a righteous stranger 

With a bible in his hand 

To educate the sinners 

And liberate their land 



CHORUS 

The sins of the fathers 

Are visited from old 

In a never ending circle 

Of people bought & sold 

So the wretched of the earth 

Will huddle from the cold 

As the ship of fools goes sailing 

On an ocean black as gold 



So come & sit beside me 

And let my tale unfold 

Of a land of milk & honey 

Where the truth must not be told 

As men of rhyme & reason 

Let the devil take their soul 

For greed & fame & fortune 

And a river black as gold 



CHORUS 



And all the non-believers 

Were hiding from the light 

As a thousand burning crosses 

Were scattered in the night 

The thieves & the vagabonds 

Were sinking in the sand 

As the righteous lord & master 

Stretches out a helping hand 



CHORUS 



And those who had to suffer 

The sick, the young, the old 

Were sacrificed to fortune 

And left out in the cold 

So in this new arrangement 

The leaders sold their soul 

For bangles, beads & baubles 

And a river black as gold 



CHORUS