Pre>   A   In the fire blue forests, faded and forgotten      I crawled through the cotton fields, picking for cotton   D   The overseer sneered, his whipping was rotten   A   With ecstasy.   F#m   Im child-like terror I tore out the tap roots   Bm   Cards of the lash were calling to follow suit   E7   I dashed for the swamps, the hounds in hot pursuit   D a   Jealously.   C#7 f#m   All through the night a figure of fright, as I hid my head   C#7 f#m   And the buried their nose in a cut of my cloths, now torn in shreds   C#7 b   And they never would leave until they believed that I was dead   E a   But I'd never curse their names   E a   Oh, who am I to blame   E a   I know I'd do the same   B   Endlessly.   C#m   And all the high-born ladies   F#m   So lovely and so true,   B   Have been handed to the soldiers   E   When in rome do as the romans do.      Frail and afraid in the mists of the morning   The snakes and the spiders were sadly performing   The bark of the dogs kept up the warning   Inside the wood.   Sweating and swearing I crawled from the manger   The highway appeared to take me from danger   Is there anyone here who would pick up a stranger?    Oh I wish you could.   Then someone replied "would you like a ride? "   "come in" he said.   We drove for a while, he gave me a smile and a piece of bread   The hammer was hard in the chrome of the car as I cracked his head   Then we took off in a spin   Oh I smashed his skull again   Oh thank you my good friend,   I feel so good.   And all the high-born ladies   So lovely and so true,   Have been handed to the soldiers   When in rome do as the romans do.      Late in the evening I came to the city   I fell to the sidewalks sighing for pity   A diamond was dropped from the hands of the pretty   To be so kind.   Cowards and corpses were busy competing   The rhymes of the riots were busy repeating   I raced to the corner and sped(? ) from the speeding   To save my mind.   Latches and locks, companies of cops ran from the rain   There was silk in the stores for the whims of the whores   That shone with shame.   I asked for a light from a priest in the night   Then I fanned the flames.   And the traffic all stood still   To see if someone had been killed   I was glad to leave a thrill   So far behind.   And all the high-born ladies   So lovely and so true,   Have been handed to the soldiers   When in rome do as the romans do.      A monk and his mother were dancing so dandy   A topless nun was handing out candy   The beautiful bishop broke out the brandy   The kiss we crave.   They stuttered and stammered, would I feel like staying   We fell to our knees, feverishly praying   The salt in the salt-peter seemed to be saying   Be brave, be brave.   I reached reached for a robe, I preached and I probed   And I taught the tune.   And the greed for the gills was played to the hilt   As I promised doom   I toyed with their fears, until coins and tears filled the room   Then I took off down the road   Laughing madly like a toad   God bless every soulless soul   That would be saved.   And all the high-born ladies   So lovely and so true,   Have been handed to the soldiers   When in rome do as the romans do.      A chorus of children were passing the hours   I joined in their fun and gave them my flowers   Covered with kisses and showered with showers   That they repaid.   Taken and trusting, would I be their teacher?    She looked so appealing, I wanted to touch her   Just out of reach, unable to reach her   Their hands were raised.   Charmed by the chalk, the lessons were taught, inside the class   They studied the rules of the samurai schools, they had to pass   The room was adjourned, the lessons were learned,   I turned on the gas   And I watched them make their pleas   They passed the test with ease   I gave them their degrees,   They made the grade.   And all the high-born ladies   So lovely and so true,   Have been handed to the soldiers   When in rome do as the romans do.      Feeling my weakness, a coward for company   I joined the ranks of the hot and hungry   To teach what it means to have love for your country   We marched away.   We lowered our lives for the lines of a border   We danced with the mothers, played with the daughters   We followed our fantasies, following orders   It was child's play.   After the war the bullets were bored so we capped the game   With cynical smiles we put them on trial to place the blame   Now what kind of beast would love such a feast   Have you no shame?    So we hung the by the feet   Oh, we shot them in the street   Oh, the victory was sweet   On victory day.   And all the high-born ladies   So lovely and so true,   Have been handed to the soldiers   When in rome do as the romans do.      The bread and the circuses came to be nearing   The saviour or somebody must be appearing   Pagans and pageants were all disappearing   Inside my head.   The stones on the statues were staring and stalling   Caesar and cassius were cursing and calling   The empire had risen and now it was falling   Or so it seemed.   The crown and the cross seemed empty and lost in dark despair   And luminous lies, death in disguise were everywhere   The canvas was cold, the story was old, I said my prayers   Then I crowned him on the head   Oh, I blessed him as he bled   Oh at last, the king is dead   God save the queen.   And all the high-born ladies   So lovely and so true,   Have been handed to the soldiers   When in rome do as the romans do.      Now nothing remained for building or burning   The losing of lovers was all I was learning   A time for escape and a time for returning had come to me   Back through the ashes and back through the embers   Back through the roads and the ruins I remembered   My hands at my side I sadly surrendered   Do as you please.   The hero was home, proven and grown, I fell on the floor   Mad with romance they started to dance, their star was born   I bled like the rain, exploded in pain, then I screamed for more   Oh, make me feel sublime   Release me from my mind   Oh, kill me one more time   And set me free.   And all the high-born ladies   So lovely and so true,   Have been handed to the soldiers   When in rome do as the romans do.      /pre>