ten thousand men on a hill,
ten thousand men on a hill,
some of ‘m goin’ down, some of ‘m gonna get killed.

ten thousand men dressed in oxford blue,
ten thousand men dressed in oxford blue,
drummin’ in the morning, in the evening they’ll be coming for you.

ten thousand men on the move,
ten thousand men on the move,
none of them doing nothin’ that your mama wouldn’t disapprove.

ten thousand men digging for silver and gold,
ten thousand men digging for silver and gold,
all clean shaven, all coming in from the cold.

hey! who could your lover be?
hey! who could your lover be?
let me eat off his head so you can really see!

ten thousand women all dressed in white,
ten thousand women all dressed in white,
standin’ at my window wishing me goodnight.

ten thousand men looking so lean and frail,
ten thousand men looking so lean and frail,
each one of ‘em got seven wives, each one of ‘em just out of jail.

ten thousand women all sweepin’ my room,
ten thousand women all sweepin’ my room,
spilling my buttermilk, sweeping it up will a broom.

ooh, baby, thank you for my tea!
baby, thank you for my tea!
it’s so sweet of you to be so nice to me.

one by one, they followed the sun,
one by one, until there were none.
two by two, to their lovers they flew,
two by two, into the foggy dew.
three by three, they danced on the sea,
four by four, they danced on the shore,
five by five, they tried to survive,
six by six, they were playing with tricks.

bridge #1:
how many paths did they try and fail?
how many of their brothers and sisters lingered in jail?
how much poison did they inhale?
how many black cats crossed their trail?

seven by seven, they headed for heaven,
eight by eight, they got to the gate,
nine by nine, they drank the wine,
ten by ten, they drank again.

bridge #2:
how many tomorrow’s have are they given away?
how many compared to yesterday?
how many more without any reward?
how many more can they afford?

two by two, they stepped into the ark,
two by two, they step in the dark.
three by three, they’re turning the key,
four by four, they turn it some more,
one by one, they follow the sun,
two by two, to another rendezvous.

when she said,
"don’t waste your words, they’re just lies,"
i cried she was deaf.
and she worked on my face until breaking my eyes,
then said, "what else you got left?"
it was then that i got up to leave
but she said, "don’t forget,
everybody must give something back
for something they get."

i stood there and hummed,
i tapped on her drum and asked her how come.
and she buttoned her boot,
and straightened her suit,
then she said, "don’t get cute."
so i forced my hands in my pockets
and felt with my thumbs,
and gallantly handed her
my very last piece of gum.

she threw me outside,
i stood in the dirt where ev’ryone walked.
and after finding i’d
forgotten my shirt,
i went back and knocked.
i waited in the hallway, she went to get it,
and i tried to make sense
out of that picture of you in your wheelchair
that leaned up against . . .

her jamaican rum
and when she did come, i asked her for some.
she said, "no, dear."
i said, "your words aren’t clear,
you’d better spit out your gum."
she screamed till her face got so red
then she fell on the floor,
and i covered her up and then
thought i’d go look through her drawer.

and, when i was through
i filled up my shoe
and brought it to you.
and you, you took me in,
you loved me then
you didn’t waste time.
and i, i never took much,
i never asked for your crutch.
now don’t ask for mine.

now and then there’s a fool such as i
pardon me if i’m sentimental, came to say goodbye
don’t be angry, don’t be angry with me, should i cry
when you are gone, i will dream a little dream as years go by
now and then there is a fool, a fool such as i.

now and then there’s a fool such as i am over you
you taught me how to love and now you happened to be untrue
i am a fool but i love you, dear, yes i will until the day i die.
now and then there is a fool, a fool such as i.

pardon me if i’m sentimental, came to say goodbye
don’t be angry, don’t be angry with me, should i cry
when you are gone, when you are gone, i will dream a little
i will dream as years go by
now and then, now and then there is a fool, a fool such as i.

now and then there’s a fool, a fool such as i am over you
you taught me how to love and now you say that we are through
i am a fool, yes, but i love you dear, i will love you dear
till the day, till the day i die
now and then, now and then there is a fool, a fool such as i.
now and then there is a fool, a fool such as i.
now and then there is a fool, a fool such as i.

oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
i’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains,
i’ve walked and i’ve crawled on six crooked highways,
i’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests,
i’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans,
i’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard,
and it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard,
and it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.

oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
i saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
i saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it,
i saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’,
i saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’,
i saw a white ladder all covered with water,
i saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken,
i saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children,
and it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard,
and it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.

and what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
and what did you hear, my darling young one?
i heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’,
heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world,
heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’,
heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’,
heard one person starve, i heard many people laughin’,
heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter,
heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley,
and it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard,
and it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.

oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
who did you meet, my darling young one?
i met a young child beside a dead pony,
i met a white man who walked a black dog,
i met a young woman whose body was burning,
i met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow,
i met one man who was wounded in love,
i met another man who was wounded with hatred,
and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard,
it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.

oh, what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
oh, what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
i’m a-goin’ back out ‘fore the rain starts a-fallin’,
i’ll walk to the depths of the deepest dark forest,
where the people are many and their hands are all empty,
where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters,
where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison,
where the executioner’s face is always well hidden,
where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten,
where black is the color, where none is the number,
and i’ll tell it and speak it and think it and breathe it,
and reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,
then i’ll stand on the ocean until i start sinkin’,
but i’ll know my song well before i start singin’,
and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard,
it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.