The Truth (Live at Union Hall)

The Truth - John Wesley Harding

I was arrested for disturbing the peace

But hey I was disturbing the war

I was waving a small white handkerchief

Singing please dont fight no more

And I thought thered be an army each side

But there were just two guys wearing very bad ties

So I shouted until my throat went hoarse

And they cut out my voicebox of course

I was taken to court in a city of gold

Where silence is a sure sign of guilt

And you cant speak out in your own defense

Or be heard over worlds being built

And the trial was a farce as befitted a place

Where comedy and tragedy share the same face

The judge read the verdict a curtain was raised

An audience roared out its praise

And I said

Wheres the truth around here today

Where do fact and fiction separate

Whos the bug guy that we have to pay

To find the truth

To find the truth around here today

It all made the news but the story was wrong

And the photo wasnt even of me

And the great God I love he intoned from above

You shouldnt sniff at free publicity

But it wasnt the voice Id expected to hear

It was thin and unclear like richard gere

And somebody said gods had a bad fall

Thats his manager taking his calls

And I said

Wheres the truth around here today

Where do fact and fiction go their separate ways

I thought we were much too clever to pray

But wheres the truth to find the truth

I was put in a cell for the whole afterlife

But my mind was just as free as can be

Somebody said just your bodys enchained

And you can guess how that encouraged me

So I wandered and roamed for the rest of my days

I was clearing my name I was apportioning days

And then I woke up it was all a dream all was well

But when I woke up I woke up in my cell

And I said

Wheres the truth around here today

Where do fact and fiction separate

No-one wants to be the one to say

Wheres the truth

Wheres the truth

Wheres the truth

In disturbing today