THE DARK END OF THE DAWN I ask the station master For a one-way ticket home Took getting

here to make it clear How far a soul can roam He says, "You want Redemption But that train's not on this track" I buy a ticket anyway And sit way in the back When I wake up, I think I'm there I see the night has gone But in my mind all that I find Is the dark end of the dawn On the platform, there's an artist With an easel on his knees It could be Michelangelo Or Mephistopheles He says he's here to save me He's a man of great renown Hey, it don't make no difference In my mind I gun him down It's more or less a game of chess And here I am, the pawn This is the street where killers meet In the dark end of the dawn There's a bright light in the men's room There's a nun in the next stall With a message that salvation Is a feast for one and all

She says, "Son, you're a sinner" Then she cuts my angels loose God wants to hear Isaiah But I'm quoting Dr. Seuss I say, "Hey, ma'am, green eggs and ham Would be fine with Luke or John" Looks like there'll be no feast for me In the dark end of the dawn Up the street, I find a doctor Who looks like Mr. Hyde He's a part-time chiropractor And a swami on the side The doctor tells me, "Lie right down And I'll adjust your spine" Then the swami says, "Don't worry, son In your next life you'll be fine" Every tale I tell's a map through Hell That some lunatic has drawn Then I see the lunatic is me In the dark end of the dawn I want someone to save me My faith is wearing thin I make my way down into town For a mug of medicine I tell the faceless barmaid Every cell inside me hurts A man walks up, hands me his card It says his name is Kurtz

I'm such a dope, I think there's hope Till I see the man's a con Words can deceive if you believe

In the dark end of the dawn A voice leads me to the crossroads Of deliverance and despair I can hear the angels singing At that moment, I don't care It's too late for signs and wonders It's too late to shed a tear I just want to find somebody Who can get me out of here Now I understand the Devil's plan The conclusion is foregone If he has his way, I'm here to stay In the dark end of the dawn In the churchyard is a lady She wears a pauper's clothes As I say, "It's nice to meet you" At her feet I lay a rose She stands there like a statue As the rose blooms from a bud While I'm looking up into her eyes She's crying tears of blood In a helpless heap, I fall asleep Right on that churchyard lawn Then in my dream, I hear Satan scream From the dark end of the dawn

There's a pathway to a carnival I'm ready for a ride With a carousel of refugees

All from the darker side There's a preacher on an ostrich Near the pig and crocodile There's a hangman riding on a lamb Looks like Kafka with a smile As I make three wishes all my fishes Swim upstream to spawn They've left for dead my loaves of bread In the dark end of the dawn I'm still praying for a miracle As my desperate play begins Jehovah's the director All the actors are my sins A performance of a lifetime Still I plead for it to stop I stand for my ovation As the curtain finally drops Inside my mind my thoughts unwind Like in "Flowers For Algernon" With no way to find what's left behind In the dark end of the dawn Then a girl comes up to greet me Like it was forever planned Her eyes stretch to eternity A rose is in her hand

She tells me she's a messenger That's why our paths have crossed She says for every soul that's saved A thousand still are lost

She tells me that my choice is clear To go back or else move on She says a lady sent her here From the dark end of the dawn Some guests come down to join us At the table for a feast When St. Peter toasts Salvation I'm impressed, to say the least I can hear the angels singing As our voices intertwine Then I scribble my John Hancock Right there on the dotted line My doubts all disappear so fast Once the final draft is drawn Then the girl hands me a lifetime pass To the dark end of the dawn The moment I awaken There's a message in my heart The train that I had taken Was the right train from the start Now I recognize each soul who's lost On these dark and desolate streets I've walked in their same footsteps All the liars, fools and cheats

They've heard about Redemption But their pain goes on and on It's true that we're all traveling through The dark end of the dawn