Caedmon’s Call Lyrics

40 Acres

There You Go

When I asked for and deserved a stone
You broke and gave Your body as bread
And even the stone that dropped down and rolled away
Spoke of the one who bled

There You go working good from my bad
There You go making robes from my rags
There You go melting crowns from my calves
There You go working good of all I have
Till all I have’s not that bad

When I asked for and deserved a serpent
You gave a net full of fish
And even the serpent that told the lie
When lifted high foretold the gift

For You so loved the unlovable
That You gave the ineffable
That who so believes in the unbelievable
Will gain the unattainable

No, there is none righteous
Not one who understands
There is none who seek God
No not one, no not one

I am thankful that I’m incapable
of doing any good on my own

‘Cos we’re all stillborn and dead in our transgressions
We’re shackled up to the sin we hold so dear
So what part can I play in the work of redemption
I can’t refuse, I cannot add a thing

‘Cos I am just like Lazarus and I can hear Your voice
I stand and rub my eyes and walk to You
Because I have no choice

I am thankful that I’m incapable
Of doing any good on my own
I’m so thankful that I’m incapable
Of doing any good on my own

It’s by grace I have been saved
Through faith that’s not my own
It is the gift of God and not by works
Lest anyone should boast.

I hear it all depends on my faith
So I’m feeling precarious
The only problem I have with these mysteries
Is they’re so mysterious

And like a consumer I’ve been thinking
If I could just get a bit more
More than my fifteen minutes of faith
Then I’d be secure

My faith is like shifting sand
Changed by every wave
My faith is like shifting sand
So I stand on grace

I’ve begged you for some proof
For my Thomas eyes to see
A slithering staff, a leprous hand
And lions resting lazily

A glimpse of Your back-side glory
And this soaked alter going ablaze
But You know I’ve seen so much
And I explained it away

Waters rose as my doubts reigned
My Sand-castle faith it slipped away
Found myself standing on Your grace
It’d been there all the time.

But if I must go
Things I trust will be better off without me
But I don’t want to know
Life is better of a mystery

So keep ‘em coming, these lines on the road
And keep my responsible, be it a light or heavy load
Keep me guessing with these blessings in disguise
And I’ll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes

Hometown weather is on TV
And I imagine the lives of the people living there
And I’m curious if they imagine me
They just want to leave
I wish that I could stay

But I get turned around
And I mistake my happiness for blessing
And I’m blessed as the poor
Still I judge success by how I’m dressing

So I’ll sing a song of my hometown
Breathe the air and walk the streets
Maybe find a place to sit and read
But the ants are welcomed company

Give me purity and give me continence
But Oh no, not yet
Like a coin hiding in the corner
Trying not to be swept
I was trying not to be swept

Kicking against these goads
Sure did cut up my feet
And didn’t Your hands get bloody
As you washed them clean
And you washed them clean

Here I am again back where I began
Try as I may I can’t get away from you
And all these roads that lead me to roam
Bring me back home
Here I am again back where I began

So you have yourself your ninety nine
Isn’t that enough for you
Still you followed me to the shadowed valley
Carried me on Your shoulders too

I’ve done the work of Sisyphus
Thinking that I could get over this hill
But the one thing I can’t get over now
Is the force of Your will

And how we just hate being Alone
Could I have missed my only chance
And now I’m just wasting my time
Looking around

But You know I know better, I’m not gonna worry ‘bout nothing
‘Cos if the birds and the flowers survve then I’ll make it okay
And given a chance and a rock see which one breaks a window
And see which one keeps me up all night and into the day

Because I’m so scared of being alone
That I forget what house I live in
And that it’s not my job to wait by the phone
For her to call

This day’s been crazy but everything’s happened on schedu;e
From the rain and the cold to the drink that I spilled on my shirt
‘Cos You knew how You’d save me before I fell dead in the garden
And You knew this day long before You made me outta dirt

And You know the plans that You have for me
And You can’t plan the ends and not plan the means
And so I suppose I just need some peace just to get me to sleep

Climb on a back that’s strong
Yeah, you can get what you want
Climb on a back that’s strong

If you could save me a place in heaven
With a clean well-lighted room
I’d muscle up to Armageddon
And wave to you darling, be home soon
If you could show me the story of love
I would write it again and again
And then you could be the woman you need
If you’d just let me be the man that I am

Oh, I don’t know
Sometimes we try too hard to see
But we’ve got one down and one more to go
That’s when you say to me

Seems everyone I’ve loved has
Taken a bit of my insides
I’m scattered as the woman whose body
Was torn for the twelve tribes

When did my heart get so petrified
When did it get so hard to feel
When did my heart get so afraid to love
When did it get so hard

And the easy-living Gnostic proud
Use their knowledge
Like a wrecking ball to tear me down
Flooding me with their fallacies
I can’t walk on this water
I’m starting to drown

Strike this rock with your rod
I’ll take the blows
Till your living water begins to flow
As it flowed from the Man of sorrows side
On that day when His body
Was torn for the twelve tribes

We wouldn’t have to talk above the crowd
We wouldn’t have to talk so loud

I give you my life and all I am
But what have I to give
So I hand you a candid photograph of this little boy
‘Cos I’ve nothing to my name
But I can give you that

I don’t miss the driving
Seems like forever
And I’m always driving in my mind
And wearing out the road that gets me there

And I’m driving till my eyes just can’t see straight
But I suppose that it’s getting late

I may never find the sleep
I’ve lost all feeling in my hands and
Feet may touch the ground but
My mind’s somewhere north of here

‘Cos I can’t walk on water
And if I chase you, I might drown
And I’m already up to my neck

If I may pose a question, it’ll only take a second
‘Cos I know that it’s getting late
And depending on your answer I might have to pack
And make a daring daylight escape
Because it’s either high time to make you mine
Or I swear it’s time to get outta town
So please say “yes” quick, ‘Cos the sun’s going down

London’s nice, but it’s the last place you wanna go
But there’s no crime and you can catch a Broadway
‘Cos it’s just so far and it’s bound to get a hold on you
And I’ve got front page headlines pulled right outta yesterday’s news

You can read all about it
About boy meets girl and then screws the whole thing up
Just like always

It’s no crime to love you
And my heart’s still doing time
It’s acting on its best behaviour.

There’s forty acres and redemption to be found
Just along down the way
There is a place where no plow blade has turned the ground
And you will turn it over, ‘cos out here hope remains
‘cos out here hope remains…

Out here the Texas sky is as big as the sea
And you’re alone in your room like an island floating free
Your spirit’s hanging in a bottle out on a tree
You say that you’re the black sheep, I say you’re still family
So throw that bottle to the waves
They’ll bring you in to me and from the shore you will see

Out here the Texas rain is the hardest I’ve ever seen
It’ll wash your house away, but it’ll also make you clean
Now these rocks they are crying too
And this whole land is calling out for you

©1999 Cumbee Road Music/ASCAP