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God Only Knows Lyrics
You may say I am cynical, but I say man is flawed
He has a vague memory of before some fall
Behaving like a reptile, but talks of walking tall
If god is in his image, the almighty must be small
<b>God only knows </b>
Swaggart has been caught with his trousers round his knees
After damning me and you to hell for eternity
Sex and power and money is the prayer of these priests
They bribe their way past heaven's gates and steal a set of keys
God only knows My guru has been sleeping with adepts and with sheep
While I was fucking celibate, self-righteous in belief
Yesterday he was god, now he is a creep
We fell upon each other starving for relief
God only knows
I damn you all to hell
I speak in the name of god
I know him intimately
I speak in the name of the white haired old man in the clouds
Always a man
Dispensing lightening justice from his fingertips
As self-righteous and bigoted as those who created him
A cruel desert god with absolutely no sense of humour
How do you feel old man?
How do you feel?
Being spoken for by these self-righteous fanatics
Is heaven full, oh lord, of these babbling preachers and
God-fearing bigots
Well I know where I'd rather be
Away from this cacophony
God only knows
God only knows
God only knows
He has a vague memory of before some fall
Behaving like a reptile, but talks of walking tall
If god is in his image, the almighty must be small
<b>God only knows </b>
Swaggart has been caught with his trousers round his knees
After damning me and you to hell for eternity
Sex and power and money is the prayer of these priests
They bribe their way past heaven's gates and steal a set of keys
God only knows My guru has been sleeping with adepts and with sheep
While I was fucking celibate, self-righteous in belief
Yesterday he was god, now he is a creep
We fell upon each other starving for relief
God only knows
I damn you all to hell
I speak in the name of god
I know him intimately
I speak in the name of the white haired old man in the clouds
Always a man
Dispensing lightening justice from his fingertips
As self-righteous and bigoted as those who created him
A cruel desert god with absolutely no sense of humour
How do you feel old man?
How do you feel?
Being spoken for by these self-righteous fanatics
Is heaven full, oh lord, of these babbling preachers and
God-fearing bigots
Well I know where I'd rather be
Away from this cacophony
God only knows
God only knows
God only knows
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Tim Booth spoke about this on Faith And Music - it's about the moment he and Jim saw through John Yarr's lies during their involvement in the Lifewave sect, a cult leader who preached a hugely restrictive and celibate lifestyle while screwing around with some of the female membership. More generally, it's about spiritual leaders who become so focused on their own spirituality that they forget who they are as physical beings with human vices.
I think he says, I speak in the name of God, I'm an intermediary, I'm a mullah, I'm a prophet, I'm a vicar. I love this song.
He sure puts it to organized religion like no other song ever has. I bet he hopes he's right.....