The Teller's Tune

In a New York City courtroom, the gavel came to fall A former king in a golden tower, to answer freedom's call Thirty-four times the jury said the truth was plain to see For secrets kept and money paid, for all the world's decree A chapter closed, a new one starts, the history books are penned But the story's old as stone and dirt, it never truly ends

Oh, the high-born and the low-born, they dance the same old reel The wheel of fortune turns and turns, what's hidden, it reveals So gather 'round and listen close, to the story that I bring It's a different year, but the same old fear, and the same old song I sing Meanwhile the son of the current chief, he stands before the law For a gun he bought, a past he fought, and every single flaw

The papers shout, the people doubt, the battle lines are drawn Two houses fighting for the throne, from dusk until the dawn And down along the southern line, a new decree is made A door is closed, a path opposed, a heavy price is paid Oh, the high-born and the low-born, they dance the same old reel The wheel of fortune turns and turns, what's hidden, it reveals

So gather 'round and listen close, to the story that I bring It's a different year, but the same old fear, and the same old song I sing The sun beats down on thirsty ground, a fever in the air Some folks pray for cooling rain, some curse without a care The powerful, they draw their lines on maps and in the sand But the water rises all the same, across this weary land

Oh, the high-born and the low-born, they dance the same old reel The wheel of fortune turns and turns, what's hidden, it reveals So gather 'round and listen close, to the story that I bring It's a different year, but the same old fear, and the same old song I sing