I was walking down the pier one day
Little ol' man stumbled in my way
He was the kind with mud in his beard
Bloodshot eyes, saliva smeared
He wore a coat of musty grey
Smelled him from a block away
Fingers blackened with the sands of time
He said, "Sister, can you spare a dime?"

I said, "Hey what do I look like to you? Money bags or
just a fool? I
work harder than you do."
His palsied head rolled to the sky
The watery moon blinked in his eyes
And then I realized and said, "Oh.
I didn't know it was you."

He said, "Oh, look at you, aren't you a heartstopper!
Haven't seen you since you were knee high to a
grasshopper!"
"Oh," I said, "you really look bothered. Don't expect
to be called Pop,
Daddy, or Father. You brought me to this stinking
place, promised me
safety, promised me grace, you lied about the world.
You said: 'Just
be upstanding, you'll do fine, Don't put your pearls
before the swine.'
But I learned something over time--
A swine's diet is pearls."

He said:
I never said it would be easy
I only said it would be worth it
When you're sitting on death's doorstep
And you know the life you lead has not been perfect
I will stand up for your honour
I will stand up for your soul
And if that ain't good enough for ol' God Himself
Then I'll hold out my hands to pose these Loopholes

I asked, "Why are there sick? Why is there pain?
Why can some walk, and why are some lame?
Please tell me all the answers to your game.
I ask this in a prayer, and the end's in your name."
He said, "That was never in my plane, to leave you
standing here without a little helping hand.
Please understand, somebody took my name and ran, made
a fool of who I
am, turned me into a fraud--
In the name of God."

And He said:
I never said it would be easy
I only said it would be worth it
When you're sitting on death's doorstep
And you know the life you lead has not been perfect
I will stand up for your honour
I will stand up for your soul
And if that ain't good enough for ol' God Himself
Then I'll hold out my hands to pose these Loopholes

He said, "Why'd you buy all of their lies, saying I'd
leave you here
behind, because you did not tithe?
Well, go and tell all of your friends the second
coming will begin not
from fire in the sky--but from fire within."

And He said:
I never said it would be easy
I only said it would be worth it
When you're sitting on death's doorstep
And you know the life you lead has not been perfect
I will stand up for your honour
I will stand up for your soul
And if that ain't good enough for ol' God Himself
Then I'll hold out my hand to pose these Loopholes
(repeat)