Road To Peace (Tom Waits)

TOM WAITS - "Road To Peace"
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards

Young Abdel Mahdi (Shahmay) was only 18 years old,

He was the youngest of nine children, never spent a night away from home.

And his mother held his photograph, opening the New York Times

To see the killing has intensified along the road to peace

There was a tall, thin boy with a whispy moustache disguised as an orthodox Jew

On a crowded bus in Jerusalem, some had survived World War Two

And the thunderous explosion blew out windows 200 yards away

With more retribution and seventeen dead along the road to peace

Now at King George Ave and Jaffa Road passengers boarded bus 14a

In the aisle next to the driver Abdel Mahdi (Shahmay)

And the last thing that he said on earth is "God is great and God is good"

And he blew them all to kingdom come upon the road to peace

Now in response to this another kiss of death was visited upon

Yasser Taha, Israel says is an Hamas senior militant

And Israel sent four choppers in, flames engulfed, tears wide open

And it killed his wife and his three year old child leaving only blackened skeletons

It's found his toddlers bottle and a pair of small shoes and they waved them in front of the cameras

But Israel says they did not know that his wife and child were in the car

There are roadblocks everywhere and only suffering on TV

Neither side will ever give up their smallest right along the road to peace

Israel launched it's latest campaign against Hamas on Tuesday

Two days later Hamas shot back and killed five Israeli soldiers

So thousands dead and wounded on both sides most of them middle eastern civilians

They fill the children full of hate to fight an old man's war and die upon the road to peace

"And this is our land we will fight with all our force" say the Palastinians and the Jews

Each side will cut off the hand of anyone who tries to stop the resistance

If the right eye offends thee then you must pluck it out

And Mahmoud Abbas said Sharon had been lost out along the road to peace

Once Kissinger said "we have no friends, America only has interests

"Now our president wants to be seen as a hero and he's hungry for re-election

But Bush is reluctant to risk his future in the fear of his political failures

So he plays chess at his desk and poses for the press 10,000 miles from the road to peace

In the video that they found at the home of Abdel Mahdi (Shahmay)

He held a Kalashnikov rifle and he spoke with a voice like a boy

He was an excellent student, he studied so hard, it was as if he had a future

He told his mother that he had a test that day out along the road to peace

The fundamentalist killing on both sides is standing in the path of peace

But tell me why are we arming the Israeli army with guns and tanks and bullets?

And if God is great and God is good why can't he change the hearts of men?

Well maybe God himself is lost and needs help

Maybe God himself he needs all of our help

Maybe God himself is lost and needs help

He's out upon the road to peace

Well maybe God himself is lost and needs help

Maybe God himself he needs all of our help

And he's lost upon the road to peace
And he's lost upon the road to peace
Out upon the road to peace.