Something's happened, now you're far away
You had to leave, no time to explain
I called Brother said, "Mother's gone
The Red Bird came and took her off"
I asked, "Will she be in heaven above?
All over my shoulder like a carrier dove?"
He said, "One, two, three, four,
There ain't no devil, there ain't no Lord.
Five, six, seven, eight,
Only love, only hate."
I went to a preacher to seek the truth
The wisest man that I knew
The preacher had fallen, his colar torn
He slept with a bottle, his face unshorn
He looked at me with bloodshot eyes
A beaten man can tell no lies
He said, "Prophets, pimps, angels, whores,
There ain't no devil, there ain't no Lord.
Money grows to fill the preacher's bank
He saves your soul for himself to take."
I travelled the world to understand
The words he spoke were no man's
I came to an island of beauty and pain
Shimmering souls, untamed
And now the children, talking bright
Sing to me in the night
They sing, "One, two, three, four,
There ain't no devil, there ain't no Lord.
Five, six, seven, eight,
Invisible ones guard the gate.
Invisible ones guard the gate."