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The Three of Us Lyrics
I will never defend
The men who make amends
With any enemy's friends
I will never pretend
There we were
The three of us:
The Theif, the King, and I
Finally we were forced to see
We were equals in the night (that starry, starry night)
Looking down between the trees
At the town we knew we had to leave
For what it's worth, we will walk the earth
Until we find the things we seek
And the King said:
I believe that I'm a non-believer now
I was a leader, but I had to leave them all
No one will ever know the things I held inside
So I let them go
Oh my god
Oh my god
Yes, oh my god
I will never defend
The men who make amends
With any enemy's friends
I will never pretend
I will never bow down
To another man
Even when everyone's saying I've sinned
I will never repent
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
Whoa oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
They will not protect us (we will fall)
They will not defend us
We'll be left behind
We'll be left behind
I never gave a damn about the story's end
Or even how it all began
And the one word that I seek is one that I can tell myself
And it's a long and winding road
But if you reap the seeds you sow
You'll see you're really not alone
I will never defend
The men who make amends
With any enemy's friends
I will never pretend
I will never bow down
To another man
Even when everyone's saying I've sinned
I will never repent
There we were, the three of us:
The Priest, the Tramp, and I
Years ago we had left to roam
But reunited on that night (that starry, starry night)
No one had to speak a word
For we all knew what the others learned
That everything that we ever did was but a way to pass the time
And the Priest said:
I believe that I'm a true believer now
I was a sinner, but I came to see the light
The bum and me did not agree, but I must confess some jealousy
Oh my god
Oh my god
Yes, oh my god
I will never defend
The men who make amends
With any enemy's friends
I will never pretend
I will never bow down
To another man
Even when everyone's saying I've sinned
I will never repent
The men who make amends
With any enemy's friends
I will never pretend
The three of us:
The Theif, the King, and I
Finally we were forced to see
We were equals in the night (that starry, starry night)
At the town we knew we had to leave
For what it's worth, we will walk the earth
Until we find the things we seek
I believe that I'm a non-believer now
I was a leader, but I had to leave them all
No one will ever know the things I held inside
So I let them go
Oh my god
Yes, oh my god
The men who make amends
With any enemy's friends
I will never pretend
To another man
Even when everyone's saying I've sinned
I will never repent
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
They will not defend us
We'll be left behind
We'll be left behind
Or even how it all began
And the one word that I seek is one that I can tell myself
But if you reap the seeds you sow
You'll see you're really not alone
The men who make amends
With any enemy's friends
I will never pretend
To another man
Even when everyone's saying I've sinned
I will never repent
The Priest, the Tramp, and I
Years ago we had left to roam
But reunited on that night (that starry, starry night)
For we all knew what the others learned
That everything that we ever did was but a way to pass the time
I believe that I'm a true believer now
I was a sinner, but I came to see the light
The bum and me did not agree, but I must confess some jealousy
Oh my god
Yes, oh my god
The men who make amends
With any enemy's friends
I will never pretend
To another man
Even when everyone's saying I've sinned
I will never repent
Song Info
Submitted by
crazydog On Apr 02, 2013
More Streetlight Manifesto
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We Are The Few
The Big Sleep
Here's To Life
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It definitely insinuates that perspective is the only thing that makes one man better than another. The thief and king are both men, in the end. Only men.
"I will never bow down to another man even when everyone's saying I sinned. I will never repent!" I think that this line means that, the narrator doesn't care about anyone els's religious judgement because he stands firmly behind his own beliefs and morals. Fucking amazing band
It seems to be a song about personal principles. The chorus is the protagonist's principles.
The kingdom is invaded, forcing the thief, king, and protagonist to escape. They lose everything and everyone. This influences the protagonist's principles: He has contempt for anyone who isn't 100% against his enemies.
The three characters take refuge in the forest. The king feels disillusioned and guilty, so he abandons his principles. The characters realize that they are equal, so the narrator adds a new set of principles: There is no reason to bow to anyone, because even a king is flawed and human and equal. Finding that the thief was not that bad of a person and that all his crimes were meaningless now, the protagonist also learns that you should only repent for your own sins (violating your own principles).
The voices of the kingdom's inhabitants as they "fall" reminds us that you can only rely on yourself.
Before the characters go their separate ways, it's foreshadowed that they will find what they are looking for. They go down their "long and winding roads" accompanied by their set of principles (or lack thereof, in the king's case, as he had no longer nurtured the seeds of belief).
Then, the characters meet again. True to their paths, the thief had become a priest, the king had become a tramp, and the protagonist was an older version of himself. There is another hint of nihilism, another reminder of the meaninglessness of all the stuff you don't care about. What matters is what you believe in. Your own Bible, your own spoken word to tell yourself.
The priest had found a very common set of principles in organized religion. Yet, the king's path was not inherently worse; The priest has some jealousy of the tramp's newfound freedom.
This song draws a very clear line between what you believe in and what someone else believes in. It warns you not to believe in someone else's principles and acknowledges the validity of believing in nothing.
It's also worth noting the comparisons between religion and principle that emerge a few times in the song. Your principles are truly the religion of your life, regardless of whether you participate in a religious group.