Shelter from the storm

F C Bb F (UNTIL THE END OF THE SONG) 
 
I was in another lifetime;  
One of toil and blood 
When blackness was a virtue 
And the road was full of mud. 
I come in from the wilderness, 
A creature void of form. 
"Come in" she said, "I'll give you 
Shelter from the storm". 
 
And if I pass this way again 
You can rest assured 
I'll always do my best for her, 
On that I give my word. 
In a world of steel-eyed death 
And men who are fighting to be warm, 
"Come in" she said, "I'll give you 
Shelter from the storm". 
 
Not a word was spoke between us. 
There was little risk involved. 
Everything up to that point 
Had been left unresolved. 
Try imagining a place where 
It's always safe and warm. 
"Come in" she said, "I'll give you 
Shelter from the storm". 
 
I was burned out from exhaustion. 
Buried in the hail. 
Poisoned in the bushes 
And blown out on the trail. 
Hunted like a crocodile 
Ravaged in the corn. 
"Come in" she said, "I'll give you 
Shelter from the storm". 
 
Suddenly I turned around 
And she was standing there 
With silver bracelets on her wrists 
And flowers in her hair. 
She walked up to me so gracefully 
And took my crown of thorns. 
"Come in" she said, "I'll give you 
Shelter from the storm". 
 
Now there's a wall between us. 
Something there's been lost. 
I took too much for granted; 
Got my signals crossed. 
Just to think that it all began 
On a non-eventfull morn. 
"Come in" she said, "I'll give you 
Shelter from the storm". 
 
Well, the deputy walks on hard nails 
And the preacher rides a mount, 
But nothing really matters much. 
It's doom alone that counts 
And the one-eyed undertaker; 
He blows a futile horn. 
"Come in" she said, "I'll give you 
Shelter from the storm". 
 
I've heard newborn babies 
Wailing like a mourning dove 
And old men with broken teeth 
Stranded without love. 
Do I understand your question, man? 
Is it hopeless and forlorn? 
"Come in" she said, "I'll give you 
Shelter from the storm". 
 
In a little hilltop village 
They gambled for my clothes. 
I bargained for salvation 
And she gave me a lethal dose. 
I offered up my innocence 
And got repaid with scorn. 
"Come in" she said, "I'll give you 
Shelter from the storm". 
 
Well, I'm living in a foreign country, 
But I'm bound to cross the line. 
Beauty walks a razor's edge. 
Someday I'll make it mine. 
If I could only turn back the clock 
To when God and her were born. 
"Come in" she said, "I'll give you 
Shelter from the storm".